Upside Down
by Crystal di Angelo
Summary: Non-slash, Gen, includes angst and whump. Karasuno fights through every challenge laid before them, be I it Shiratorizawa, Aoba Johsai, or some other powerhouse school. But when real life smashes in to turn everything upside down, Karasuno has to learn to overcome this challenge as well.
1. The Incident

_**Upside Down**_

* * *

It was just a trip to the practice match with Nekoma. Fukurodani was invited as well, but according to what Kenma had told Hinata over the phone, it was mainly because Bokuto had been making a fuss about his 'baby owl' and Akaashi finally couldn't take any more of it, bluntly telling their coach to schedule a practice match with Nekoma, and telling Kuroo to schedule yet another practice match with Karasuno.

Only problem? The bus had yet again been booked by other clubs-to be more specific, by the swimming and basketball clubs. Both buses were gone. And there wasn't enough time to raise cash to buy yet _another_ bus, plus they wouldn't need it anyway. The bus they'd raised money to buy had been loaned to the tennis club on the say-so of the headmaster two weeks ago, since he reasoned that, " _You guys aren't using it right now, so why not?_ "

Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai had their own private cars, but each could only transport four members, five if Nishinoya and Hinata were on the same car. Therefore they had to enlist the help of Tanaka Saeko, the driving nightmare.

Hinata had immediately claimed Takeda-sensei's car, and Nishinoya went with him, as the two chibis were a set. Kageyama followed Hinata, saying that he wanted to discuss more strategies with him. Asahi followed the libero, and Yachi claimed the front seat, since there were only three girls who did not want to be squashed in with the boys. Sugawara, Daichi, Tanaka, Ennoshita and Kiyoko took Coach Ukai's car, Daichi and Suga having some things to ask the Coach. That left Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, Narita and Kenoshita in Saeko's car.

Hinata felt sorry for his fellow first years and the two second years who were looking slightly green at the prospect. Tsukishima didn't seem particularly bothered, having his headphones blast music into his ears and just 'Mmm…' when Suga asked him if he was okay with the arrangement.

 _Oh, just you see…_ Kageyama remembered the last time Saeko had given them a ride.

Takeda-sensei delivered his customary speech which amazingly, never failed to bring up their spirits. "I know this isn't your first practice match with either Fukurodani or Nekoma, but this doesn't make the reasons for us to give it our all and win any less. I know they have been tutoring you some on defense and attacks, and may seem like teachers to you, but once on the court, you are equals fighting for dominance. Prove that you have improved, prove that you can surpass your teachers and senpais, as the Crows of Karasuno!"

"Osu!" They replied, pumping their fists, and piled into their assigned cars. Coach Ukai's car took off first, its occupants being more mature and not fidgeting around marking their territory for the next few hours to come. Like Hinata and Kageyama are doing right now.

"Your elbow is digging into my side, dumbass!" Kageyama growled. "For someone so small you sure are wide!"

Hinata responded by digging his elbow even deeper.

"S-Stop it! At this rate we aren't going to make it to Tokyo in time!" Yachi tried.

Saeko's car took off as well, but much more dramatically compared to Coach Ukai as it took a tight swerve and skirted around the corner, tires squealing and leaving plumes of dust in its wake.

Takeda-sensei stared, mouth agape. "I-Is that even safe?"

"No!" Kageyama and Hinata chorused, finally settling down when Nishinoya clambered over to plop between them.

"When she drives, it's all like _Uwaaahh_ and then _Eurghhhh_ but suddenly it goes all _Purrrrr_ …"

Kageyama did not want to guess what that _Purrrr_ was referring to.

Nishinoya stared at Hinata in abject horror. "Really? Did it go all _Gerghhh_?"

" Yes! Exactly like that!"

Asahi gave up on deciphering their conversation.

Takeda-sensei had already started driving, but the cloud of dust was nowhere in sight. The excitable members had finally settled down, and given the steady pace of Takeda-sensei's driving, they were finally konked out. Nishinoya was sprawled all over Kageyama, and Hinata was sprawled all over him in turn. Kageyama was able to sleep despite all the weight on him. Asahi was quietly admiring the peaceful mountain scenery. Yachi was doing the same.

The route they had picked was fairly deserted, cruising through the countryside. In the wee hours of the morning, they could admire nature in its serene beauty.

Until they saw a peculiar lump of metal ahead of them.

"Was that a car accident?" Asahi questioned.

Yachi 'Eeep'ed and her overactive imagination came out to play once more.

Saeko had been driving really fast. She might have crashed into something…

"We should call the authorities." Takeda-sensei handed his phone to Yachi, who fumbled with it for a second and nearly dropped it. The car continued to close on the wreck. There were no signs of life.

"That's…There's…two cars." Asahi said, voice trembling. Yachi pressed 111 with shaking fingers and had to go back one space to put in the '0' instead of '1'.

 _Don't think that its them…it's definitely not them, of course. With the speed Saeko is driving they should be in Tokyo by now already._

 _Unless they crashed into Coach Ukai's car here and stayed like this until we got here…_

 _NOTHING HAPPENED TO THEM ANYWAY NOW SHUT UP BRAIN._

"Hello, this is the National Police Department of Japan. May you please give your location and nature of emergency so that we can route you to the correct authorities?" A clear, crisp female voice was speaking on the other end and Yachi started, nearly dropping the phone.

"Um, hello, Police-san, I would like to report a car accident, um, on…" She looked to Takeda-sensei for help and caught a glimpse of the looming accident scene which was getting closer. There were shattered glass shards everywhere and he was forced to stop the car to avoid puncturing his tires or getting caught up in an explosion. The gasoline on the ground was a ticking bomb.

Takeda took the phone over. "Ah, we are on Sakura Highway, Lane 114." He paused for a while. "Ah, hai, there's gasoline on the ground and glass everywhere…I've stopped the car, yes. Two cars. No, I can't tell the amount of passengers…okay, got it. We won't go anywhere near the wreck. Understood. Thank you very much…Asahi-san!"

Kageyama woke up at the force of the yell emitting from their normally soft-spoken teacher, jerking and sending Nishinoya sailing into Hinata, which woke everyone up.

Asahi had opened the car door and ran straight for the wreckage.

"I'm sorry, it's my student, he's heading for the wreck…I know, I'm trying! Asahi-san! It's dangerous! It might go up in flames any moment!"

Nishinoya ran after him and Hinata was fully awake right now, having the libero clamber across him to get to the car door. Kageyama 'tched'. "Idiots!"

Asahi flinched a little when his shoes splashed through the gasoline, but he didn't stop, instead crouching down beside the nearest car and starting to pick out all the glass shards from the front window.

"Nishinoya! Come back here!" Takeda-sensei was getting really scared now. "Operator-san, sorry but I need both hands to restrain my students."

He then promptly ended the call and turned to shoot Kageyama and Hinata a death glare.

"Don't even think of it. Yachi-san, I'm counting on you."

"H-Hai!"

He thrust the phone into the girl's hands and ran after the two boys, who had cut their hands removing the glass shards to peer inside-

-only to see Coach Ukai's unconscious body.

"Ukai-kun!" The teacher shooed his students away, attempting to yank the volleyball coach out of the car. He had only hit his head on the steering wheel, thank God, and the gash wasn't bleeding profusely. He still had a pulse.

"Asahi-san, Nishinoya-kun, please pull him out to a safer place. Ask Yachi-san if any of the wounds can be treated by the first aid kit she brought for you guys."

Asahi lifted Coach Ukai all by himself, and Nishinoya ran over to the car in front, which was upside down, anticipating the worst as Takeda-sensei tried all the doors to the car, to no avail. Once the door was not in its original shape, it's near impossible to be opened by hand.

So he resorted to dragging Kiyoko-san out through the driver's window. The manager's eyelids fluttered a little. The airbag was inflated, and there were no visible injuries other than a big bruise on her head, so she should be okay.

Meanwhile, Nishinoya was struggling under the weight of Saeko's body as he tried to get a grip on her through all the blood.

Oh. God.

The glass must have cut her face in several places, because it was a bloody mess. Maybe her nose was broken as well. There had to be broken bones from those weird angles her limbs were.

Worse.

She seemed not to be breathing.

Takeda averted his gaze and focused on trying to get everyone before the gasoline reacted to all the friction they were creating by dragging people here and there. They should wait for the police, really, they weren't professionals.

But this was _their_ team.

Asahi ran over to Nishinoya, Hinata and Kageyama in tow, apparently having taken advantage of Yachi's momentary distraction in the form of Coach Ukai to help. Takeda didn't protest when Kageyama helped to lift Kiyoko bridal style and bring her back to Yachi. Takeda set about breaking the window of the back seats.

Nishinoya appeared to be crying. Asahi was stoic, reaching in to yank Kenoshita out of the shotgun seat. Hinata was frozen, and was gently led back to assist Yachi by Kageyama.

Takeda hit the glass twice with a rock before it finally gave way and broke. Takeda cringed, wondering if any of the glass shards flying inward had hit any of his students.

Tanaka was slumped over Daichi, who had flung his arms over Sugawara. The silver-haired setter in turn had one arm holding on to Daichi and the other wrapped around his kouhai Ennoshita. Takeda reached for Tanaka.

 _I wonder how he'll react to Saeko's condition…_

Another pair of arms was beside him, supporting the bald head as he struggled to drag the muscular body out. Kageyama nodded to him silently, and hauled him to Yachi and Hinata with Nishinoya's help. Nishinoya was sobbing aloud, but despite the tears he was doing his best.

Sugawara woke up when Takeda pried Daichi's hands off him.

"What happened, sensei?" He asked, momentarily disorientated. His eyes were unfocused, and Takeda made a mental note: Probable concussion.

"Car crash. We're getting you out of here. Can you help push Daichi out?"

Suga blinked hard, trying to focus his thoughts. "Sure." He gently let go of Ennoshita and took Daichi's legs as Takeda grabbed his upper torso. Together, they heaved him out of the car.

"Is everyone alright?" Suga asked as he maneuvered Ennoshita into hauling position. "You got Coach Ukai, Ryuu and Kiyoko-san out, right?"

"Yeah. You guys are mostly okay. The worst so far was probably Ukai-san's head wound, but Yachi-san's treating it right now." Takeda replied. Suga didn't need to know about the other car yet. He hauled Ennoshita out with Kageyama's help and reached out to give Suga a hand as he tried to clamber out of the window.

Suga's eyes narrowed. "You guys?"

Takeda was happy for the distraction when Suga's legs got cut on by the remnants of the broken window and he hissed, losing his balance and falling onto the ground. Not one of his final moments. "Oww!"

Kageyama helped him up and for a moment, Suga saw the world spin.

"Everyone's safe now?" He pressed on.

Takeda cursed Kageyama when he gestured wordlessly to the car in front.

Suga's eyes went wide, and he rushed over in time to see Asahi and Nishinoya working to extract Yamaguchi's broken body from the car.

"It hit us…turned…flew over our car…" Suga's right hand went up to tug at his hair, closing his eyes. A trickle of blood flowed down his arm.

It dripped down into the petroleum.

"…and turned 180 degrees upside down…"

Kageyama had a firm hand on Suga's arm. "Senpai. We need you to go over to Yachi and treat whatever wounds you have. The petrol could blow up at any instant."

"…crashing into the road like that how can anyone survive?!" Suga's eyes snapped open. "I'm helping! Where's Yachi? I have some medical knowledge, I can help. Tsukishima's the last one in there, right? That means Tanaka-san, Kenoshita-san, Narita-san and Yamaguchi-kun all need help. Yachi won't be able to handle so many at once."

"Okay." Takeda-sensei took the slightly panicky third year by the arm and led him over to where Yachi was probably hyperventilating by now.

They had just cleared the site when something rubbed wrong against the gravel and the wreck exploded, sending debris into the air…

With Kageyama, Asahi, Nishinoya and Tsukishima still in it.

Takeda made to run into it, but Suga stopped him.

They could hear Yachi and Hinata scream.

And water sprayed upon the wreckage like a rainstorm after a drought.

* * *

"So you were taking your students to a practice match in Tokyo. Specifically, Nekoma High School. And you did not use the school bus or the club bus because the headmaster had promised it to another club."

"Yes." Takeda-sensei had his head in his hands. Four of his students. Gone up in flames.

"I am very sorry." The policewoman's voice softened. "But we need to conduct a thorough investigation into this. So that whatever caused today's tragedy will never happen again."

 _Oh, it won't_. Takeda thought bitterly. Tanaka Saeko was confirmed dead on the spot. No one would ever be put at risk by her reckless driving ever again.

"So your students, Azumane Asahi and Nishinoya Yuu charged in first without thinking, and you followed to try to restrain them, but failed. Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shouyou then followed, but Hinata-kun could not take the sight and went back of his own accord. A wise decision." Her eyes bore sharply into the teacher, and he could feel himself shrink a little. He should have dragged them back bodily, damnit.

And lose Ukai, Shimizu, Sawamura, Sugawara, Tanaka, Ennoshita, Kenoshita, Narita and Yamaguchi?

"Yes." He replied weakly.

The policewoman rose. "Thank you, that is all. We will interview the students later. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Welcome." Takeda mumbled, and left for the bathroom.

In the hospital hall, Tanaka was weeping into the embrace of his father. The doctor had checked him and dressed his cuts, but declared him fine. He was required to stay overnight like everyone else for observation, but otherwise had no serious injury.

Apart from the hole that had been ripped in his heart by his sister's death.

"I should have stopped her from driving so fast…My teammates complained but we all laughed it off!"

Tanaka's father only pressed his son closer, glad that at least this child hadn't come to any harm.

Hinata was in hysterics, on the other hand, and a counselor was called in to talk to both him and his mother. Natsu was clinging to her brother, confused and scared. Hinata's father was the only parent actually paying attention to the counselor as Mrs. Hinata was doing her best to soothe her son.

"Just one whoosh! Just _whoooosh_ and they were gone!"

"Whooooosh?" Natsu imitated her brother in hopes to make him laugh, but instead the boy only cried harder.

Sugawara had been taken in for a scan to check for brain damage, and his silver haired mother was clutching her bag tightly and biting her lip. Coach Ukai's head wound was only superficial, and confirmed to have no brain damage. He was talking to Nekoma's coach on the phone, stone-faced.

"Yes, an unfortunate accident. Literally. I'm sorry, with the injuries sustained…I don't think this match can be delayed. Cancelled, more like."

"… _delay it I don't care if we have to wait years! I want to see how my baby owl's doing!"_

" _Ahem. I did most of the teaching. You just spiked. Baby cat, more like."_

"… _both of you are third years. Good luck waiting years."_

"…coach, did you put the phone on loudspeaker?"

" _Ah, sorry about them. Seems that they have grown fond of your team. Don't worry, we'll just delay it first and not fix a date. We can always cancel later. So how's the team?"_

Coach Ukai sighed and ran a tired hand over his face. Daichi's father had just strode in the room and gave his son a huge bear hug.

"Our captain is okay, only a few bruises and cuts. All of us are staying overnight in the hospital, to satisfy the doctor's paranoia-"

" _Which one is the captain?"_

" _The short black haired one, dark brown eyes, wing spiker, number 1, built kinda broad."_ A voice rattled off.

"Uh, yeah, that one. Our vice captain Sugawara Koushi, setter, number 2, silver hair-"

" _You could have just said silver hair, I know right off which one he is when you say silver hair."_

" _Bokuto."_

" _Hmm?"_

" _Shut up."_

Ukai cracked a small smile. "He's undergoing a brain scan right now. I think he's got a concussion from the way he acted during the crash, but otherwise nothing big."

" _Told you to delay it."_

" _Bokuto. Shut up."_

"Hinata, orange hair, Takeda, teacher advisor, Yachi, blonde hair, girl, manager, all three of them are okay, They weren't involved in the crash in the first place, they just helped to get people out. Tanaka, bald, he's alright, cuts and scrapes too. Ennoshita, dark hair quiet second year, same as Tanaka." Ukai ran through the names faster and faster, almost blubbering. "Kiyoko, I've been told all of you think she's pretty, black haired girl manager, she's okay, we got her out in time."

A chorus of 'Thank God's from the other end of the phone.

"Yamaguchi broke his right arm, they say he flung it up to protect himself at the moment of impact and had a nasty gash-okay, multiple nasty gashes on his torso, but we got there in time, he won't die from blood loss."

The other end of the phone quietened down. Only the occasional squeak of shoes was heard against the gym floor was heard as someone-someone whose world hadn't been turned upside down continued to practice volleyball.

"Kenoshita hit his head pretty hard, he might go into a coma, no one knows. They're waiting to see if the blood clotting in his head clears, They might have to operate to drain the excess blood and fluid. Narita lost a lot of blood through a head wound, they did a blood transfusion and reset his broken ankle, so he'll heal."

There was a long pause.

"… _Kei?"_

It was Fukurodani's ace. Across the room, Kenoshita's parents were holding each other, foreheads pressed together, fervently praying for their son.

" _What happened to Tobio-chan?"_

How on earth did Seijoh's setter-

" _We were supposed to show up as a surprise."_ Oikawa continued mournfully. _"What about your ace and libero anyway?"_

Ukai's breath hitched.

"They…Nishinoya and Asahi…Shortie with small patch of yellow hair in front of his head, huge long haired man, he wore a headband during the last practice match-"

" _Ukai-kun. You're rambling._ " Came the soft voice of Nekoma's coach.

"…Kageyama. The three of them were trying to get Tsukishima out. He was the last one, we were _so_ close. To all of us being safe. Takeda-sensei stepped out for a second, he was guiding Sugawara over to Yachi's place, and the gasoline blew up."

"It erupted. Went up in flames. It was hot, blistering. The firemen arrived right on time to put it out, but in that split second when the flames raged without control-I thought we might lose them." Takeda-sensei put in quietly. His sudden appearance nearly made Ukai drop the phone. "Good news and bad. Choose."

" _I'm dreaming. I'm even being forced to choose between good and bad news. This has to be a dream._ "

It was unclear who spoke, but it seemed to be Oikawa. Or Bokuto.

"Bad." Ukai didn't even hesitate.

"Tsukishima may not pull through. The doctors finally made a full report of his injuries. In addition to the 36% of third degree burns he got on his legs, he also got second degree burns on most of his body parts. Before the burning, the doctors estimate that he broke two ribs, and one punched right through his lungs. The ulna of his right arm was fractured and may have damaged the tissue surrounding it. All the fingers on his right hand are broken. His left arm suffered minimal damage…but his left ankle was snapped too. Clean break. He also has a head wound, which is the main cause of the blood loss but the fire fixed that. It cauterized the wound, but no one is sure whether the bacteria got in first because he's currently running a high fever as well."

Ukai shut his eyes tightly for a second. The good news'd better be good. "And the good news?"

Takeda cracked a smile. "Nishinoya's awake. Apparently Asahi protected him from the worst of it and the worst he sustained were second degree burns. Plus, the water was sprayed directly onto him when the firemen arrived."

A collective sigh of relief echoed through the phone, though they were still tense after the news about Tsukishima.

Tanaka collapsed onto a seat when he heard the news.

"There was one casualty though. Dead on impact." Ukai said, grim once more.

" _I thought that was everyone? Did you recruit a new member?_ "

"No, it was Tanaka's older sister, Tanaka Saeko. She was the driver."

And everyone faced the very real possibility of someone actually dying from this. Tsukishima might not pull through. Kageyama and Asahi, still unknown.

They hated this.

It was all fun and sunshine until someone decides to crash the car, it seems.

* * *

 ** _To those who expected a new Ao No Exorcist fanfiction-Sorry! I got myself hooked on Haikyuu! Please ride this Haikyuu phase out. I always return to Ao No Exorcist, don't worry. It's like my anime base. My first anime…_**

 ** _On the other hand, however. Can anyone guess so far who this story is going to be centered around? And take a guess at my two favorite characters as well :)_**

 ** _I'm up to date with the anime, but I'm just starting on the manga so forgive me for any inconsistencies._**

 ** _Crystal di Angelo, out._**


	2. The Same Day

_**I'm annoyed. Definitely annoyed. I typed out the whole beautiful chapter for Chapter Two on my PC and what happens? It gets shut down. There goes all my files and stories... And guess what? Tanaka's ENTIRE MOURNING SCENE FOR SAEKO DISAPPEARED. And I'd listed out all the injuries and how they got them, with a huge amount of research poured in too. Anyway, this is the new chapter. I hope that it didn't get worse with the second try.**_

* * *

Akiteru ran into the hospital, breezing past the nurses' station, making a beeline for the lift sign. He only stopped when the lift took its sweet time to reach his floor, during which frantic thoughts swirled around his head.

 _Kei got involved in an accident._

Akiteru prayed hard that it was light, just one that involved the slight shock to those involved, maybe a few bruises, but his mother's tone-

 _"Aki, I need you here." Broken, pleading, frantic. "I can't get a hold of your father, and Kei...just come. Please. We're in Tokyo Central Hospital, fifth floor."_

Akiteru was actually a little surprised that his mother had bothered to try to contact his father. Not that he was a bad or abusive father, just...a successful businessman who never spent time with his family. Even when he did, it was obvious that his heart had already flown to his work, to the money pouring into his bank account.

To provide for his two children and wife.

The lift dinged and Akiteru ran in, jabbing the "Close doors" button and then nearly smashing the button with a tiny five on it. He couldn't stop. If he stopped, he would think. He shouldn't think. Shouldn't make any condemning conclusions. See Kei, and everything's going to be alright.

He saw a woman hurrying towards the elevator, and decided that she could probably wait for the next one. It shouldn't take more than two minutes, after all.

To his surprise, the woman-well dressed in a sharp black suit and a pencil skirt, slipped her hand between the closing elevator doors. Akiteru hastily pressed the "Open Doors" button, and the woman slid in, breathing heavily. She glanced over at the buttons, making no move to press any of it.

"I'm sorry." Akiteru apologized. He had given in to his own selfishness for a moment. "I was just...just..."

What could describe his anxiety at the moment? Granted, it might turn out to be a small thing, as his mother overreacted with everything, but still. Concern for Kei, the constant thought of 'what if', the need to comfort his mother...and maybe a shred of anger at his father buried in deep.

The woman managed a frazzled smile. "You can call me Fujimoto-San or Mrs. Kageyama. Fujimoto is my maiden name, and some people still refer to me as such. It's okay. I think I might understand...I was probably a bit too anxious as well. My being there a few minutes early won't make a difference to my son. For me though, the word would probably be concerned."

Kageyama...?

"For me...it's my little brother." Akiteru said as the lift made a stop on the third floor to admit a doctor, who immediately pressed the button 7. "I shouldn't be worrying, since he's very capable and self-reliant, but this time he got himself into a car accident."

Mrs. Kageyama stopped, her gaze boring into Akiteru, who fidgeted a little. "So is my son."

The lift dinged. Floor five.

Akiteru dashed out, escaping from Mrs. Kageyama's scrutiny. He hoped that neither had been at fault for putting the other in danger.

His mother rushed to him from the waiting room into his arms. "Aki! Thank God you're here. Kei still hasn't come out from surgery, and they told me to sign papers, but I don't know which ones are okay to sign and which ones aren't and Kei's condition isn't looking good at all and the doctors are speaking in hushed voices so that must be a bad sign. Aki, please. I don't know...your father's not receiving my calls, I've no idea where he's got himself to again."

He could feel his mother's tears wetting his shirt and swallowed himself. "What did the doctor say about Kei?" He asked gently. His mother acted like a child when extremely emotional, and it was often up to him to play the role of the grown up.

* * *

"His legs are burnt really badly." She started, sniffing. Akiteru noticed that Mrs. Kageyama walked past him with a dignified air to confer with one of the other adults in the waiting room. "And he had a really bad cut on the head. His fingers on the right hand are all broken and-and his right arm's bone, I don't know, was broken too, and his ribs, two of them, one went right through my baby's lungs, it must have hurt!"

Mrs. Tsukishima started to cry again, softly. Akiteru helped her sit down in a waiting chair beside the silver haired woman and knelt down before her.

"Mum. Calm down, please." His voice was trembling, but he held his mother's hands steady. "Breathe with me. Deep breaths, slowly. Don't think about Kei. Just think about your breathing. In, out. In, out. That's really good, mum. In, out. One more time. In, out. Is that better?"

That earned a small nod from his mother, and the silver haired woman glanced over with concern, despite the worry present on her face.

"Now, can you please tell me what happened? After that I'll take a look at the papers and call Dad again. If he doesn't pick up, we're going to discuss the papers and sign them based on our discussion. Is that okay?"

His mother nodded. Took a deep breath.

"Kei was going on a school trip to Tokyo. A practice match with two schools in there, something organized by the volleyball club. Apparently their bus wasn't available, so they enlisted the help of the coach, the teacher and the sibling of one of the other members. One of them crashed into the other when driving, and the last car arrived at the scene some time later, and tried to get everyone out, but before they could get everyone out the petroleum blew up." She shrugged helplessly, and the silver haired woman placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Was Kei gotten out before..." Akiteru realized that his question was pointless. 36% of burns. Of course Kei had the rotten luck to not make it out in time. Selfishly, he wished that someone else had taken Kei's place.

"Mrs. Tsukishima?" The silver haired woman spoke hesitantly. "Your son...he's Tsukishima Kei, right?"

Akiteru frowned in confusion. He didn't remember mentioning their surnames in the conversation.

The silver haired woman smiled a little at them. "I'm Mrs. Sugawara. Koushi's mother. My son is on the team as well. He tells me a lot about his teammates, and from how he described Tsukishima-kun and maybe mentioning his full name somewhere down the line, I just made a wild guess."

"Is Sugawara-kun okay?" It only seemed proper to ask after her son.

Mrs. Sugawara's smile dropped a little. "He's in good condition, but the doctors say that due to the inertia of the car jerking forward and his friend Sawamura-san holding him back, his brain may have collided with his skull from the inside, causing a closed head injury. I hope that the brain scan will reveal nothing, but the doctors say that nothing means either zero damage or its bad enough to be a GMI or something, whatever that was."

A door swung open and a bald guy strode out, looking like he was doing his best not to run.

"That's Tanaka-San." Mrs. Sugawara said. Akiteru was grateful for her conversation-it took his mind off Kei and the red light of the ICU. "He lost his sister, Saeko-san in that crash."

"I-I have to go. I'm sorry, Sugawara-san." Mrs. Tsukishima rose abruptly, paling at the mention of death. "It's fine, Aki, you don't have to follow me." Her eyes hardened. "I'm going to make one last call to that father of yours and retrieve the papers."

Akiteru watched his mother walk off, feeling like a lost little boy.

Mrs. Sugawara looked at Akiteru. Akiteru bit his lip a little. This woman was strong, gentle, but strong nonetheless. She had acted kind and caring towards his mother, but inside those eyes, there was a hidden strength, an incredible mental fortitude which stood for the purpose of helping and caring for others.

"Do you want to know what happened to your brother, Tsukishima-kun? I overheard the doctor's conversation with your mother and the teacher."

Akiteru nodded, and his eyes filled up a little. "I'm sared."

Mrs. Sugawara pulled the boy into a hug. "You strong, sweet boy." Her voice trembled, and he felt something drip onto his head. "We're all scared."

* * *

Mr. Kenoshita felt a huge burst of anger as his wife continued to pray, hands clasped. He'd prayed with her. Begged his wife's God to answer his prayers for once.

And yet his son was still in the Intensive Care Unit, fighting for his life, fighting not to slip into a coma.

"I want to sue the school." He said coldly. "For compromising use of a bus that belongs to the club, bought with money which they raised themselves."

"And?" His wife asked brokenly. "What then? What good will suing the school do?"

"At least this won't happen ever again! They won't have to get someone else's reckless sibling to drive them! Or he should just pull out of the volleyball club-he isn't even a regular! People get injured in volleyball, what if he hits his head again? He wouldn't have to join in school trips to other places..."

"Our son loves volleyball!" Mrs. Kenoshita raised her voice. "And don't lay blame everywhere, what happened has already happened! The girl paid her price-she died for it! What more do you want?" Tears trickled down her worn face. "What more do you want than for our son to be safe?"

Husband and wife stared at each other for a moment, and were back in each other's arms again, wishing for their son to be safe. Alive. Happy.

Around the corner, Tanaka Ryuu dug his nails into his palm, hard.

* * *

Nishinoya was not sitting upright when Daichi went to visit him. The tiny libero was staring at the ceiling, unfocused.

"Noya-san." Daichi said as a way of letting him know he was there, and fell quiet. Nishinoya did not speak as well. Both of them waited in silence. Nishinoya's parents had gone to track down the doctor, to ask more about their son's condition.

"...what happened to everyone?" Nishinoya finally asked, his throat sore and cracked. Daichi wordlessly got a glass of water and forced it down his teammate's throat before speaking.

"Tanaka isn't taking Saeko's death well." He said, and stopped, trying to gather his thoughts. "Asahi-san is out of immediate danger by now, but he hasn't regained consciousness yet. His father is talking to him right now."

Mr. Azumane had gone straight to his son's side upon arrival, and spoke to him and deep, reassuring tones, talking about anything, everything.

"Suga went under again, so the doctors suspect brain damage and took him for a brain scan. Kiyoko-san, Yachi-san and Ennoshita are all okay, no internal damage either. Narita took a bad hit, but they patched him up. Just an open head wound and broken ankle, since he was sitting on the opposite side of the point of impact. Yamaguchi broke his right arm and got cut on a lot of glass, but him being sandwiched between two people helped too. Kenoshita and Tsukishima got it the worst. Apparently they took a look at what's left of the skid marks and determined that Saeko's car took a turn too sharp and ended up swerving the whole left side of her car into the back of our car, but it's momentum carried it up into a backflip and over our car, and it landed upside down. But so far, Kageyama, Tsukishima and Kenoshita are the only ones still stuck in ICU. Thanks to you guys, most of us got off."

"I couldn't save every ball." Nishinoya stated hollowly. "Tsukishima was the last one-we actually thought we would make off with it. Any of us could've been the one to set off the spark. It might be me. If any of us dies..."

"It won't be your fault." Daichi stated firmly. "You did your best. Because of you I'm here. You saved me. You saved Suga from worse damage. Even Kiyoko-san. She might make you thank you chocolates!"

The false cheer in Daichi's voice did help Nishinoya to crack up a bit.

"Thank you...maybe I'll use the chance to grab a kiss as well." He smiled wearily, eyelids drifting shut. "Wait until I get back to school...they'll be so jealous..."

Daichi quietly slipped out of the room, leaving the libero who had started snoring. His father had gone home to collect all necessary items for an overnight stay, and Daichi intended to use this opportunity to check up on his teammates and see how they were doing. So far the only ones he could actually visit were Kiyoko, Tanaka, Nishinoya and Ennoshita. Yachi and Hinata had gone home after their parents having one session each with the counsellor. Takeda-sensei was handling the huge fallout of paperwork the accident had caused-writing official reports, giving testimonies, explaining to the parents, talking to the headmaster and likewise.

Daichi had gone to Ennoshita first, and the calm second year had told him that his time was better spent with the others. Ennoshita had been out for the most of it, not even remembering the incident and getting off lightly. Still, Daichi had sat with him until his parents had arrived.

Kiyoko was next, and it was quite the awkward situation with her father hovering protectively over her, so Daichi quickly left after giving her a brief update on the others' condition. By then Nishinoya had woke up, so he ran straight to Nishinoya.

And Tanaka...kept eluding him, like a shadow.

Daichi wanted to go to Tanaka at first, but saw him with his parents and decided that family was probably the best for him right now. Then he saw Mr. And Mrs. Tanaka leaving for the lift-presumably to head for the morgue to identify their daughter's body and make the suitable arrangements when he exited Kiyoko's ward.

Tanaka was still nowhere to be seen when Daichi left Nishinoya in a somewhat peaceful slumber.

Tanaka was not in his assigned bed. Granted, the nurses aren't going to be too happy about Daichi running around like this, but he didn't really worry about that. He tried the joined bathroom, and then took a peek into Nishinoya, Kiyoko and Ennoshita's wards again. No Tanaka.

Sugawara's mother was talking to a frantic lady who had a young man kneeling beside her, and no one was really paying him any attention as he paced back and forth, too worried about their respective offspring.

Suga...

He really wished Suga was with him right now. His friend was acute to the feelings of others, and somehow knew exactly what to say, what to do. What touches provided the most comfort, what words provoked the most response, digging deep into the heart of the problem before healing it with gentle hands.

At the moment of the crash, he didn't even think twice about yanking Suga backwards hard when he jerked forwards, almost in danger of crashing into the windshield in front. Suga had fallen unconscious immediately, and Daichi must have knocked his head on something, because he didn't remember anything else beyond that either.

Suga's mother pulled the young man into a hug after the lady had left. Mrs. Kageyama-Daichi didn't need any introductions, that sharp look and intense concentration on their faces matched exactly-cast the duo a weird look.

A nurse exited a door on the far left. "Family members of Sugawara Koushi?" She said into the corridor, her words reverberating.

"Tsukishima-kun? I will only be a while, they have news about my son." Mrs. Sugawara gently pried the young man from her embrace, and practically ran to the nurse. "Is there anything wrong with Koushi?"

Daichi couldn't help but listen in. Not that Mrs. Sugawara would mind much.

"We are relieved to report that there appears to be no major damage. There will be no permanent side-effects, though your son will need to be gentle with his movements for a while. Nausea, headaches and dizziness are going to be common as his brain repairs the damaged area, and the brain is a delicate organ, so we cannot give an accurate estimate, but he should be back to normal in three to four months. Our recommendation is no sport activities during that time period, and maybe light ones at the very end, but he has to be very careful not to over exert himself."

"He loves volleyball." Mrs. Sugawara said, almost a little mournfully, but then grabbed the surprised nurse's hands. "Thank you!"

"I am glad your son is not in danger too, Mrs. Sugawara-san." The nurse smiled briefly. "Now, if you 'll excuse me..."

Mrs. Sugawara bowed one more time, and turned back to Daichi and Tsukishima-kun-he must be Tsukishima's older brother.

"Do you want to come in as well?"

Daichi leapt at the opportunity, bobbing his head frantically. Only a moment before he had wished for Suga's counsel, of course he was going to accept this kind offer. Older brother Tsukishima hesitated, and decided against it. "We shouldn't overcrowd him. Besides, I should really go look for my mother. Thanks again, Mrs. Sugawara."

And so only Mrs. Sugawara and Daichi entered to see Suga lying on the white hospital bed. Daichi had expected a bandage to be bound around his head, but since it was a closed head injury there was really no need for it. Slowly, Suga stirred a little and his mother pressed a warm hand to her son's right hand, settling him.

"Mama?" He asked blearily. Then noticed Daichi hovering awkwardly at the foot of his bed, and smiled. His eyes focused and cleared a little. "So what happened? Is everyone okay? I'm not sure what happened after-did all of you get out fine?"

*He didn't remember the explosion.* Daichi realized. Mrs. Sugawara had come to the same conclusion as well, but decided on different courses of action. Daichi had opened his mouth to inform Suga of everything that had transpired, but Mrs. Sugawara cut across his words gently but strongly. "Yes, everyone's okay, dearie. If you want to, I can take you to see your teammates, but not now. You have some head trauma and need to rest. And no sitting up!"

Suga had tried to sit up, which incurred this response from his mother. He grumbled, "But it feels weird, looking up at all of you!"

Daichi cracked a smile, deciding to play along for now. She was his mother after all-she knew what's best for her son. Besides, it might not be a good idea to learn about his friends immediately after a head injury. Give it a good night's sleep, and they'll see.

"You should get lots of rest." Mrs. Sugawara informed her son, who, like Nishinoya, was apparently still recovering from all the morphine they had been given. Within minutes of awakening, Suga's eyes were already drooping as he struggled to remain awake.

"Daichi." Suga called, voice tired but firm. "Everyone really is okay?"

Daichi stopped. Suga did not notice, as he would have if he were more alert.

"Yeah. We'll be back to playing volleyball in no time."


	3. Second Day

_**You guys really don't like to talk much, do you? Two chapters, two reviews. I'm literally surviving on one review per chapter. Special thanks to Johnnyjayo from The Incident, and NobodyHasNoBody (Guest) from The Same Day. To Johnnyjayo, I didn't even realize I wrote that until I reread the chapter. That's pure Hinata talking. And to NobodyHasNoBody, Kageyama's demise (nah, just kidding) is going to be revealed in this chapter, but through Suga's point of view. Why, you ask me? Because I konked my own head on the floor and have a similar condition to Suga right now, except much, much better. I'm getting the headaches and dizziness, but no nausea. Suga's a closed head wound, but mine's open. Still, it's not every day you receive the same injuries as the character you are writing so I'm going to make the best of it.**_

 _ **I'm keeping the burn victims-Tsukishima, Kageyama out of the loop for now, since there's fear of bacterial infection. Nishinoya's wasn't severe, so it would be okay. Asahi's condition is stable for now, and his burns were nowhere as severe as Kageyama. Or Tsukki.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

* * *

Sugawara Koushi tried to give Sawamura Daichi the silent treatment.

 _Tried._

He remembered waking up to his mother, his mind only partially conscious as he received the news that everyone was okay, nothing had changed, just a minor setback. A few practices would have to be cancelled or missed, but in the end all would turn out okay.

He knew this because Daichi was the one who told him that. Daichi, whom he would trust to the very ends of the earth.

Daichi lied.

Suga closed his eyes, facing away from the bright sunlight that penetrated the window. His head throbbed.

 _Daichi lied._

His mother had gone to work. She had been loathe to leave her son alone in the hospital, but Suga, upon wakening, had gently reassured her that he was fine, and stated the fact that the hospital bills were going to cut a huge dent into their budget. As a single parent who wanted to spend as much time with her child as possible, his mother did not earn much, only taking the necessary hours to pay the bills, not a minute beyond that. His mother had promised that she would be back at six o'clock for the doctor's report and hopefully check him out of the hospital.

Daichi had come by to keep him company an hour after, and he was kept relatively entertained by the light flow of conversation the captain kept up. He was feeling tired already, even though having just woken up a couple hours before. He was still in the hospital assigned scrubs, even though his mother had brought some of his stuff from home-a couple textbooks, manga, two fresh sets of clothes and what remained of his luggage. His phone had a cracked screen, but could still operate, though Suga's head hurt when the bright screen winked on, so he just put it aside for later. Yachi-san had dropped by as well, arms full of volleyballs. Kiyoko-san was with her, and handed one to Suga.

"We thought you might want something familiar." She said in that gentle, soft voice of hers. Suga thanked her and accepted the ball from Yachi, giving the small blonde a smile out of reflex. Yachi bowed and quickly backed out of the room, nearly making Kiyoko drop all of the balls. Suga counted four more balls.

"Who are those for?" Suga asked, curious. If he'd been more alert, or more suspicious, he would have noticed Daichi stiffening beside his bed.

Kiyoko did a quick head check. "Kageyama, Asahi, Nishinoya and Tsukishima. I'm not sure whether I would be allowed into Kageyama or Tsukishima's ward though."

Suga frowned. "Why?"

And Daichi spoke, hurried and tinged with guilt. "Uh…they have families visiting right now."

Kiyoko had a slight frown on her face. "Even family is restricted-oh."

Daichi was gesticulating a little frantically as he spoke. "In any case, you won't know until you try. Thanks for the ball, Kiyoko-san."

And Kiyoko slid the door shut, the door which Daichi seemed to be leaning towards a lot right now.

"Daichi." Sugawara spoke softly. His headache was still there, but it had somehow dimmed with the new realization. "Is there anything wrong with my memory?"

Daichi swallowed, which calmed him down a little. "No." He managed to say evenly.

"That means what I remember about you telling me that everyone would be back to playing volleyball in no time last night did happen."

"…yes."

"Why would family and friends be restricted from Kageyama and Tsukishima-kun's wards then? Additional check-ups? Fear of bacterial infection? Or our kouhais have just become more anti-social after the accident? A hard hit to the brain, perhaps?" Suga's voice did not rise. It trembled, as he swallowed back fear, hurt, and tears. "Which won't prevent any of them from playing volleyball in a few days?"

"Suga…"

"I want to see them. Nishinoya and Asahi, at the very least." Suga dragged his legs out from under the covers and slipped them into the fluffy slippers lying beside the bed. His right fingers curled around the IV pole. "And you, Sawamura-kun, please take me there."

Daichi went around the bed to help Suga with the IV pole. Suga did not protest, but let Daichi lead him to a random ward.

When he opened the door, an excited ball of energy was awaiting him. He would have flung himself straight at his vice captain, if not for the various tubes hampering him and the bandages wrapped around his torso. Suga couldn't help but smile as Nishinoya's mother pressed her son back down to the bed, scolding him a little, though there was a bright smile on her face, which meant good news.

"Suga~~~~! The doc came by just now, he said that since my burns didn't extend past second degree, I'm going to be okay in a week! They're actually letting me out of the hospital tomorrow, I can't wait!" Nishinoya peeled back the edge of one of the bandages. "They're itching, which means it's starting to heal. I can't wait to get out and play volleyball again. See what Yachi-san and Kiyoko-sama got me?" He held up the volleyball, not bothering with the unraveling bandage, which exposed a red patch of skin.

"You're okay." Suga sighed in relief. "Do you know anything about the others?" He shot Daichi a withering glare at this.

Nishinoya's high spirits dropped a little. "Ah. Asahi-san hasn't woken up yet, but his dad's with him. Kageyama woke up just now, I heard the doctors talking, but he's still confused and his mother isn't permitted in yet, so I don't know. Yamaguchi's beaten up pretty badly, but he can still move around, he just needs rest and time for his broken arm to heal. Narita and Kenoshita both pulled through, though I was worried for Keno-chan there. Ryuu's disappeared, I heard his parents checked him out to prepare for Saeko-nii's funeral…" Nishinoya grew a bit solemn, his smile disappearing. As for Tsukishima, we couldn't get him out in time, so he has burn wounds on top of whatever he originally had. There was a lot of blood though…"

Nishinoya trailed off when he noticed that his captain was sending him pleading looks and that his vice captain was glaring daggers at the captain.

"Sawamura-kun," Suga began, and both Nishinoya and Daichi shuddered. Not a good thing when Suga addressed you so formally. "You _lied_."

Three words, a disappointed, sad, angry, teary look of Suga's had Daichi collapsing in a heap of rubble.

Suga turned and stormed out of the room, and Mr. Nishinoya blinked in surprise. The third year had come to his humble abode before to spend time with his son, and he had never struck him as one to be so chilly and angry and…sad.

"Um." Nishinoya told Daichi, who was now slumped at the foot of his bed. "Whatever you did, bad idea."

"I know." Daichi said mournfully.

* * *

Daichi was checked out of the hospital by lunch. He'd tried to enter Suga's ward to say goodbye, but Suga shut him out, throwing his full weight against the door. Daichi had left shortly after.

Suga lowered his head into his knees. He was guaranteed some peace and silence for a while, since the next check-up wasn't due for another two hours, and those of the team still present in the hospital would likely not be up to the task of visiting anyone. Six o'clock was four hours away.

Breathe in, breathe out.

 _Everyone will be okay._ He told himself, trying to convince himself. Logic and a quick calculation of the odds said otherwise. Sometimes he wished he wasn't so good at Mathematics or Biology.

The pounding in Suga's head intensified. He clenched his fingers in his silver hair. The names, the injuries. Nishinoya's words, the crestfallen expression. His mother's soothing voice, Daichi's words.

 _We will be back to playing volleyball in no time._

Suga choked back a sob. The Winter Tournament was a month away. It was supposed to be their final chance at glory, the chance to scrape away their name of 'The Unflying Crows', their chance to turn the tables on Aoba Johsai, to defeat Shiratorizawa, to go to Nationals. They belonged on that court of the Winter Tournament, and swore not to step down from it without a fight.

Now they were never going to step on it again. Maybe some of them would make it, but what were they without their ace, their new genius setter, their silver moon, their steady fill-ins, their adorable pinch server, or their Guardian Deity?

Not to mention the psychological damage. Would Hinata still be full of sunshine and laughter? Could Daichi still be their strong pillar? Quiet and dependable Ennoshita? Tanaka…could he even laugh again?

Suga rose and retrieved his phone, tapping on the screen. He shut his eyes and sat on the waiting chair. The first ring was cut off abruptly.

"Suga?"

Daichi's voice was hopeful, mournful, sad and happy. He sounded so… _grown-up_.

Suga clutched his phone tighter. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

"What?"

From the confused tone he was using, Suga could tell the he was genuinely confused and couldn't hear his apology.

"Daichi, I'm sorry." Suga repeated, voice cracking. "I'm sorry. I was just so worried, I didn't think about you. About the others. I was only thinking of stupid little me, how my own trust got betrayed when you were just trying to deal with it, I couldn't help any of you. That so many others were injured and I was just prancing about in my own little perfect world-"

"Suga." Daichi's voice was gentle. "Suga."

Suga bit down hard on his bottom lip. "Sorry." He managed again in a cracked whisper. "I'm being selfish again, aren't I? You don't have to bear everything, not my worries, at least. Thanks."

Daichi's breathing through the phone soothed him. Then a sharp inhale, and exhale, as Daichi prepared himself to speak.

"Suga. I'm not the one bearing all the burdens. You are."

Suga halted his thought process there for a moment. In what way was he doing that? He was the one who shut Daichi out, who stormed out of Noya's room when he should have tried to comfort the little libero.

…ah.

So was that what Daichi was referring to? But he _wanted_ to do that, to take care of his kouhai, to make sure everyone's well and happy. It was his responsibility.

"Still, what I did to you was wrong. I apologize. See you at school tomorrow?"

"Yeah . That's good."

They did not hang up immediately though, but listened to the sound of each other breathing for a couple more moments before finally pressing the red button. Suga was the one who did it. It was time to go visit his teammates.

* * *

Tsukishima Akiteru felt like he was going to go crazy.

So they finally got in contact with his father a few hours ago. Before that, they had spent the night in a nearby hotel room, using Mrs. Tsukishima's credit card. They had dialed his father's family phone numerous times, but he never picked up until two in the morning, sounding tired, irritable and annoyed. Just around the time when Akiteru was thinking that if he had to hear the answering machine one more time he was going to toss the phone somewhere and go to bed.

"Sakura, I told you before that my next visit isn't going to be for two more months. I'm sorry, but the schedule is full until then."

"Father." Akiteru had said, deadly calm. "Mama is asleep right now. This is-"

"Kei?" Mr. Tsukishima interrupted, surprised. "Why are you on your mother's phone?"

"This is Akiteru." The young man mentally sighed. Did he really sound so much like Kei just now? "Kei…isn't good. He's in the hospital right now. We need you to come."

Silence. "What? Now? What happened?"

"Yes, now. We've been trying to contact you since yesterday already, but you never picked up. We need you to sort out the paperwork and just-be with Kei. And Mama. She was panicking, but pulled herself together, but she still needs someone to lean on."

Yet more silence while Mr. Tsukishima spoke to another person in the background, presumably his secretary.

" _My son's been involved in a car accident. Can you arrange for a flight back to Japan tomorrow? And in the mean time, see if you can move my meetings down the schedule. And check what's going on in the Japanese companies, I will be checking up on them while I'm there."_

" _Yes, sir. But there's a Board Meeting with some of the most prominent businessmen in America at nine o'clock tomorrow. Are you sure you want to cancel that as well, or you will stay for the meeting before catching the flight?"_

"… _move up the meeting to seven, if possible. Make the flight later than six in the evening then."_

He moved back to the phone. "Well. I will be arriving in two days, since there are stopovers in China and India."

Akiteru knew that the stopovers were only because his father had business to attend to in the companies there as well, but he wasn't going to complain now. This was the best compromise he could achieve for now, with his current limited energy.

"Okay. See you then."

Akiteru hung up.

Now here he was in the hospital lobby yet again, waiting for the doctor to come so that he can ask whether he can see Kei yet and-

 _If he's okay._

Of course he wouldn't be. But Akiteru had been hoping for a miracle of some sorts, that Kei would wake up during the night away, or that the doctors discovered a cure overnight. Wishful thinking.

The doctor came out, and Akiteru's mother flew to him. Akiteru was slower, following behind as his mother peppered the doctor with questions.

"Um." The young doctor rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Tsukishima Kei? He isn't in my ward, I'm sorry. His doctor is Katashi-kun, over there. The doctor pointed at a frazzled looking doctor, his stethoscope thrown over his shoulder while he frantically sorted through papers at the counter. The clerk working her shift there was paying him no mind, and he did not ask for her help either, instead muttering to himself and pulling at his hair at intervals.

Akiteru did not feel very secure with that doctor taking care of his baby brother. His mother put aside all insecurities and went straight up to him. "Katashi-kun. You're the doctor in charge of my son Tsukishima Kei, right?"

The doctor looked up, peering at her blearily through his spectacles. The dark rings around his eyes indicated a sleepless night. "Ah. You are…his mother? Mrs. Tsukishima?"

"Yes, now tell me how's my son doing?"

The doctor thrust a report into her hands. "He finally stabilized at around seven this morning, we're keeping him in an artificial coma. His burns will take some time to heal and if any of you are going to visit him, only twice a day, no more than twenty minutes, and go through all the proper procedures the nurses instruct you on or you may very well kill your son. His immune system is down right now, and the lymph...he needs to focus on healing right now. A few more days of observation and we'll be able to give you an estimation on when we can take him out of the coma, and give you a full report of his estimated recovery process. Any more questions?"

Seven in the morning. Approximately two hours earlier. The doctor must have worked through the night. Akiteru felt a sudden surge of appreciation and gratefulness towards the doctor.

"Can we visit him now?"

"Sure." His tired eyes roamed over the room, settling onto the doctor from before. "Ask Yoko-san to show you the ropes. I need to crash now. Catch you later when I'm more awake."

He gathered a few more papers and left.

Mrs. Tsukishima marched over to the doctor. "Tell me what to do to see my son?" She asked, pleadingly.

Just then, a silver head poked out from a door, eyes roving about and settling on Akiteru. Akiteru was immediately reminded of Mrs. Sugawara the day before. This must be her son. The silver-haired teen quietly slipped out and positioned himself beside Akiteru, making the older boy tense up, even though he knew that Sugawara-kun wouldn't mean him any harm, if he was anything like his mother.

"Tsukishima-kun?" The voice was slightly hesitant, but pleasant on the ears with its soft tone. The way he enunciated the syllables soothed people as well. Akiteru wondered for a brief moment how is it that some people could speak like that. "You are Tsukishima Kei's older brother?"

"Yes." He answered as his mother turned to address him.

"Aki-chan, they only allow one person in at a time. Do you want to go first?" His mother seemed a little surprised at the sudden addition of another boy by her son's side, and let it show, but her mind was on other more pressing matters.

"No, mom. You go first. I'll talk to Sugawara-kun for a while." Akiteru noted that this was going to use up their two visits for the day already, one for his mother and one for him. And when his father arrived, one of them wasn't going to see Kei for that day. However, that was a problem for a later time.

His mother nodded, and squeezed Akiteru briefly. "Thanks, Aki-chan."

The doctor guided her into another room and Akiteru turned to face Sugawara once more. The boy was still waiting, smiling at him uncertainly, but still warm nonetheless. "How's your brother?"

Akiteru did not reply immediately, closing his eyes to sort through the plethora of information in his head. "Um…"

"It's okay if you don't want to tell me." Sugawara hurriedly informed him. "I just want to know, but if you think he might consider it private you can just tell me so, I don't mind."

"Oh, it's nothing like that." Akiteru quickly replied, noting how the silver-haired teen's eyes were slightly unfocused, remembering his mother mentioning brain damage yesterday. "It's quite a long list though, and my mom won't be out for some time, so why don't we sit down?"

"Okay." He replied, sitting down on a nearby waiting chair a bit too heavily than normal, but he still looked at Akiteru who was moving to sit down beside him with a fire in his eye.

"Well." Akiteru started, then stopped for a while. "For the burn damage…he's going to be sequestered for quite a while. You saw my mom, she was going in to disinfect herself before she can see Kei. Visits can't last long, and we're only allowed twenty minutes each. The doctor didn't mention a fix on the recovery date, just more observation. As for damage sustained during the crash…more than half his fingers were broken, a couple ribs too, one punched through his lungs. One of his ankles was snapped, he probably hooked it under the front seat to avoid being thrown around. His right arm has a broken bone."

When he saw Sugawara's eyes widen little by little and his fingers starting to move in nervous little patterns, only did the full impact of what he was saying crash home.

Here he was, reciting his little brother's every injury in a monotone, tired and listless. He was living in the aftermath.

But for Sugawara-kun, who had been there during the accident…

He could probably see how Tsukishima was tossed around the car, drawing in sharp breaths and probably letting loose screams as he slammed into the front seat, crashed into the window, landed in the wrong position. Whimpers and cries. The clear snap of bone breaking.

"-kishima-kun? Tsukishima-kun? Please breathe, Kei's okay for now, the doctors are helping him. Tsukishima-kun, are you alright?"

Akiteru blinked, jerking himself back. Sugawara had a hand on his shoulder, looking worriedly at him. "Thank God! You just drifted off all of a sudden, and looked really…"

"Scared. I was scared." Akiteru remembered his confession to the boy's mother the day before. He bit his lip. "Thank you."

The brown eyes were gentle, skimming the surface of his soul and gently probing deeper. "No problem." He sat back down, huffing a breath. "Your brother was caught in a terrible accident with scary injuries. Hinata needed therapy. Yachi was terrified out of her mind, even though she wasn't directly involved. It's normal."

Akiteru let out a shaky laugh. "Ever considered becoming a psychologist?"

Sugawara laughed as well, clear and sweet. "Nah. I want to be an obstetrician. Mainly because of the babies though. They're adorable!"

Akiteru smiled a little. So this was who his brother interacted with on a daily basis. Caring and supportive, smiles and sunshine. There was a quiet strength to the boy as well, and Akiteru knew that the volleyball team would be in good hands as long as this teen was around.

Kei would be perfectly fine.

At least, that's what he wanted to believe.

* * *

 _ **Thanks to Guest for a third review that finally spurred me to finish this chapter!**_

 _ **Up next chapter:**_

 _ **Kiyoko, Yachi, Daichi, Suga, Ennoshita, Hinata return to school.**_

 _ **Hinata visits Kageyama.**_

 _ **Kageyama's mother is one scary lady.**_


	4. Third Day

_**Upside Down: Chapter Four**_

* * *

Hinata gulped as he nervously peeked out of the elevator. A clear coast.

He quickly ducked out and ran to the nearest corner, his mother following behind, bemused at her son's antics. Her heart sank as she remembered why he was so twidgety, or why he was even coming here in the first place.

She had tried her best not to place blame, really. But she wants to know the entire story of the trauma that befell her son, and of course found out everything she can, from newspaper reports to demanding information from the police, calmly reminding them that she could always hire a lawyer to gain access to documents that she has right to view. The policewoman didn't even blink at her request though, apparently used to over anxious parents demanding classified information. She had given a brief compiled report, one meant for the viewing of the press, which Mrs. Hinata would have seen anyway but without the reporters' edits. The policewoman told her not unkindly, but firmly, that all the legal affairs would have to be settled before they could officially release anything to the viewing of the parties involved.

She was not a lawyer, but she heard that Mrs. Kageyama- Mr. Grumpy's mother, she recalled-was a lawyer, with a high ranking position in a prestigious law firm as well, and she decided that this woman would be sufficient to do all their fighting in the court of law once she glimpsed her in the ward, keeping vigil beside her son's bed, talking on a phone in an irritable manner, cancelling appointments and rescheduling meetings.

Hinata had leapt backwards, backpedalling out of the room as soon as Mrs. Kageyama turned a curious eye upon him. Mrs. Hinata was used to her son's various antics, and skillfully settled him with a hand upon his shoulder, steering him into the room and greeting Mrs. Kageyama after reminding Hinata to be quiet.

"When did he wake up last?" Mrs. Hinata questioned softly.

Mrs. Kageyama took a brief glance at her watch. "About two hours and twenty-three minutes ago. He wakes up every three hours, so stay a bit longer and you might catch him."

"Uwahh, that long?" Hinata drooped with disappointment. Granted, Mrs. Hinata hadn't expected her son to take in the sight of his friends wrapped up like a mummy in a hospital bed that well, but she supposed he had probably expected worse. That thought didn't reassure her at all.

The two mothers left Hinata talking to Kageyama about his day at school and entered the lobby to discuss legal matters.

"As a matter of fact, I would have pushed for more legal intervention if the girl responsible had not died." Mrs. Kageyama stated matter of factly. Mrs. Hinata found it slightly disturbing that there was no hint of pity or empathy for the dead girl in Mrs. Kageyama's words. "She has records of pushing the speed limits, and I'm actually surprised that it took so long for her to crash a car."

"For now, I just want to know what happened to my son." Mrs. Hinata said. "I'm trying to imagine what it would look like to him, what horrible things he did see and what he didn't. What I should protect him from. To understand what he was going through."

Mrs. Kageyama gave her a sharp look. "You are not seeking legal retribution?"

Mrs. Hinata shook her head. She saw this woman more clearly now. She was probably not one for love or affection, and had absolutely no idea how to comfort her son, or what he needed, so she was putting all she had into what she could do about this entire, horrible thing. Which was squeezing everything she could out of the culprits and hoping that it would give her son some relief.

But Mrs. Hinata thought otherwise.

She was fairly certain if Shouyou was in Kageyama-kun's place, he would have screamed and yelled at his mother to just stop, to stop creating new wounds and just focus on healing those already caused.

"Mrs. Kageyama…" She began cautiously. "What did your son say about this?"

Mrs. Kageyama was taken by surprise. She paused and thought for a long, deep moment. "Actually…I didn't ask him."

"Well, between mothers, I feel that I should focus more on helping my son deal with the consequences first. If you feel that seeking justice will help your son, then go ahead."

"Tell me more. About how to help my son." Said Mrs. Kageyama.

* * *

Hinata was bored.

He had returned to school that morning, along with Yachi, Daichi, Suga, Ennoshita, and Kiyoko. No one dared to bother Suga because of Daichi, and Suga had returned home early due to a headache and dizziness. The doctor had warned about this already, so no one was surprised. Kiyoko and Yachi stuck together during the free periods, and no one dared to bother the girls for fear of Nishinoya or Tanaka's wrath. So Hinata was the one stuck with everyone wanting to know exactly what happened.

"Hinata-kun, we heard that someone died!"

"Shouyou! Are you okay? Was there a lot of blood?"

Hinata did his best to answer everything, but they continued to pepper him with questions until the teacher entered the class and cleared his throat loudly. "Ahem. Will all of you stop bothering Hinata-kun and pay attention to the right place?"

Hinata knew why his friends did what they did, he would have done the same, curiosity getting the better of his sensitiveness, and he did enjoy their company, but the unexpected rescue from the Biology had him quietly breathing a sigh of relief. For every question they asked, he would have to recall the horrible scene laid out in front of him, the dawning horror, the blood everywhere as his senpais and Kageyama dragged the bodies to the first aid kit, which was looking too small for all of them. The feeling of uselessness that enveloped him, that he could not muster enough courage to help his teammates. The wrangled moan that escaped Yachi's lips when Nishinoya brought Saeko to them, crying and sniffling.

No one could seem to keep their mind off the accident though. It was a chapter on the bone structure of humans today, and a hand shot up.

"Masuyo-sensei, won't it make more sense and be more interesting to the class if you use the accident yesterday as an example? I heard that Tsukishima-kun from Class 1-4 broke his right femur. How would that occur? How would one need to land to not break any bones? How much pressure-"

"Yeah, I remember watching in an anime that if you press exactly in the right place the bone could break in a snap!"

"Class. There is a special disease called osteogenesis, more commonly known as OI, which makes it easier for bones to break. Microfractures can form in the feet of the person afflicted should they attempt to stand. However, Tsukishima-kun does not have this disease, and as for pressure points to break bones, it increases the likelihood, but there is no guaranteed success. As for Tsukishima-kun's injury, it was very likely that the car flipped over or he crashed into the window, it depends on where he was sitting. Now class, I understand your concern for your friends, but it will not do for you to pry into their affairs, got it?"

"Okay, sensei." The class chorused.

 _You don't know anything._ Hinata found himself blinking away tears. He hadn't even gotten to see Tsukishima before the wreck went up in flames. He wasn't sure he wanted to see him. The last image he had of Tsukishima was…was…

He remembered him having a bored look on his face, but a wicked gleam in his eye as he chanted 'Osu!' with the rest of them.

That was Tsukishima. Not whatever burned, charred body they dragged out later.

Later, during break, Hinata fled to Yachi's class. The timid girl was trembling, and yelped when Hinata approached, but relaxed when she saw the bright orange hair.

"It's so awful!" She cried, flinging herself at Hinata, gripping his hands. Her hands were ice cold, and shaking. "I keep seeing accidents everywhere, I can't stop, that fan might fall onto our heads it would crash us we would end up in the hospital, I couldn't stop fidgeting in the car when my mum drove me here this morning, I keep thinking of them!"

"We could lean the wrong way and the window could break and we would fall out…" Hinata muttered. Yachi's trembling intensified. "The floor could crack under us any minute, we live in Japan, there's earthquakes and tsunamis around every corner."

"Our Social Studies teacher said today that about three thousand people die per _day_ from car accidents." Yachi whispered to the ground, clutching Hinata's hand tight. "They were almost among that three thousand yesterday, and Tsukishima-kun and Kageyama-kun aren't still completely out of the red zone yet. They could be among that three thousand today, tomorrow, or the day after. I don't know."

Yachi was crying. There were no crystalline drops of tears, no poetic moment where the light shone briefly through a tear in a beautiful kaleidoscope of colors before it hit the ground. It was sniffles, rivulets of tears and mucus running down her face in a mix of fluids, her face red and blotchy, eyes puffy.

"Saeko-san died." She whimpered. "Kenoshita nearly went into a coma. It's scary and real, and I don't want it to be."

Hinata didn't care that others were watching, that he was a teenage boy and Yachi was a teenage girl, that rumors could spread very quickly in Karasuno.

He drew her into a hug.

"It has to be okay, because we're still here, right? Three thousand people die every day from this, but we aren't among them yet. We can still fight. In volleyball, we fight and protect our team. In this, I'm sure we'll pull through too, right?"

Yachi gave him a small nod, imperceptible if her head wasn't buried in Hinata's shoulder.

"Let's go find the third years?"

In the end, it turned out that Kiyoko had maintained her calm demeanor, but Suga had worriedly confronted her, saying that she didn't look good, paler than usual, and she'd had a breakdown similar to Yachi's, only much less obvious. She hadn't cried, nor rambled, but she had pulled Suga close all of a sudden and gripped his shoulders with shaking hands, and that was enough to show them that she was worried, very worried for her volleyball team.

Daichi laid a comforting hand on the manager's shoulder, enveloping it with his large hand and bringing a sense of safety, temporarily quieting the raven-haired girl's fears and calming her.

"Yachi-san must be uncomfortable as well. I'm going to make sure she's okay."

Just then, an orange head and a blonde head poked around the door of the classroom, as if Kiyoko's words had summoned them.

"Are we supposed to be bothering them?"

"They don't even have a teacher right now. Maybe we can all skip for a period?"

"But my homework-"

"The teachers should probably understand. Daichi –san!"

"…probably…?"

Smiling, Daichi dragged both Suga and Kiyoko over to their kouhai.

"Daichi and I would be honored to skip." Suga smiled, though Hinata noticed an added crease at the corner of his eye that didn't seem to go away. "Kiyoko-san?"

"Okay." The girl responded softly as she automatically gravitated towards Yachi.

"How about we go to the roof?" Hinata asked excitedly. It wasn't everyday your senpais who were facing exams agreed to skip with you. It's like, super cool!

Daichi took a look at Suga, but before he could protest Suga flashed a bright smile. "Sure!"

They brought their bentos, since it was only two more periods to lunchtime anyway. Daichi made Suga promise that he would tell if he felt unwell, and Suga agreed a bit reluctantly, casting a glance at their kouhai. They reached the fifth floor without any incidents though, and Daichi opened the door leading to the roof.

The wind was blowing really strong on the roof, lifting and mussing Daichi's hair, relaxing him as he let the wind brush his tenseness away. Suga followed behind him, letting out a huge sigh of contentment as the cool air hit him. Hinata practically bounced at the sight of the curved dome of the sky spreading out before them, making them feel small. The girls came last, skirts blowing dangerously in the wind. Yachi pulled her school issued jacket closer for more warmth. Winter was close.

Any slight sheet of frozen ice on the roads could have done the trick.

Yachi pushed the thought away and focused on Hinata and their senpais. Kiyoko had settled down in a kneeling position, skirt carefully arranged and her hair flying in the wind. Daichi, Suga and Hinata were all awestruck by the beautiful sight at first, but Suga snapped out of it first and sat down on the floor cross-legged. Daichi joined him, and laughing, Suga tugged Hinata down as well. Yachi grinned, and settled into their small circle.

"Let's exchange bentos!" Suga suggested brightly, with a mischievous grin. "I'll number all of them and we pick papers with numbers written on them. Wanna try?"

"Sure!" Hinata smiled brightly. He was always excited at the prospective of something fun and new. Yachi nodded as well. His enthusiasm over the smallest of things was infectious. Kiyoko said that she was fine with anything, and Daichi added that he would be okay as long as it was edible. So Suga numbered all of the bentos with a bright grin, Kiyoko's being one, Yachi's two, Hinata's third, his own fourth and Daichi's fifth. He scribbled the numbers down on scraps of paper and put them in the middle.

"Everyone take one!" He grinned cheerfully.

Hinata grabbed a piece of paper first, no surprise there. He got number one, and handled the bento Kiyoko handed to him like it was made of glass. He opened it, 'oohing' as an enchanting aroma drifted out. "You can make Western bentos?"

French fries, salad and fish fillet. Hinata dug in eagerly as Kiyoko took hers. Number four.

"You're in for it, Kiyoko." Daichi grinned as Suga handed his bento to her. "Suga loves his spicy mapo tofu."

"Especially the spice." Suga added as Kiyoko opened it to reveal spicy mapo tofu, just as Daichi had predicted. To their surprise, Kiyoko took the first bite and didn't even break a sweat, compared to the buckets Daichi had sweated when he had tried a bite a few months before. He'd never regretted it so much before. When they ate the store brought ones, Suga always complained it wasn't spicy enough, but Daichi could handle those just fine, so he'd challenged Suga's homemade tofu. He'd never do that again.

Suga picked a paper next, getting Hinata's bento. "I'm lucky! Hinata's mom is the best cook ever! Ooh, what's this?"

The aroma of crushed herbs drifted out, strangely soothing. A rich sauce was spread across the neatly cut chicken pieces and seeped into the rice. Hinata stared at the bento, mouth watering. So _that_ was what his mother had prepared for today.

Suga noticed his gaze and smiled kindly. "Do you want it back?"

Hinata looked down at Kiyoko's bento and hesitated. Both were luring him, the promise of satisfying his taste buds evident in both, but he had a feeling that he would regret either choice.

"You can exchange half the bento." Daichi suggested, but Suga shook his head, his smile becoming strained.

"Nah, Hinata can take both. I'm not sure whether I can." Suga set down the bento and covered it, cutting off the outpouring of the meat's smell. Both Kiyoko and Daichi were looking at him closely, concern evident in their eyes. Yachi was confused, worried for her senpai, and Hinata was frowning, not understanding why Suga would suddenly turn down food.

"Are you okay, Suga-senpai? These look really delicious." Hinata set down Kiyoko's bento as well. "You really don't have to do that for me, I'll eat Kiyoko-san's. My mom will be happy that you ate her bento, she won't mind. She might even make an extra one for you next time."

"No, there's really no need. Kiyoko-san, can you close the lid of my bento?" Suga looked like he was struggling to maintain his composure as he slowly got to his knees. Kiyoko did as he asked, realization dawning on her face.

"Daichi-san, it's probably the smell making him nauseou-"

Suga lurched to his feet unsteadily, making it a couple steps away from their small circle before he collapsed to his knees again, retching and gagging on stomach acid. Daichi gripped Hinata's shoulder in a reassuring grip before he rose to join Suga, who was looking pale and trembling. Kiyoko gave Yachi and Hinata a thin smile, obviously trying to comfort the two first-years but failing. Even her beauty did not give them any extra comfort.

If it had been any ordinary day when Kiyoko smiled at them, both of them would have been starstruck.

Suga gagged some more, expelling more stomach acid, and dissolved into coughs. Daichi patted his back gently, the other hand supporting the setter's shoulder. Suga stopped after a while, and spent some time just regulating his breathing before he finally spoke, voice ragged.

"Sorry for that. I'm okay now."

Daichi led him back towards the group, and Kiyoko subtly checked that all bentos were closed. The sudden stimulus of a wide array of smells may have been too much.

"Maybe we shouldn't eat now." Yachi worried aloud. "Let's…play a game or something?"

"That sounds good." Suga agreed, smiling weakly.

"Well, Truth or Dare?" Hinata suggested. "My friends were playing it a couple days ago, it seemed fun, though the dares are kinda scary."

"No daring people to jump off the roof." Daichi said immediately. "Or kissing."

Kiyoko cracked a small grin at that, stacking the bentos up neatly between her and Yachi. "I'll go first. Daichi, Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." Daichi decided that this was an opportune time to show them where to draw the line for dares.

"I dare you to…lie flat on your back and I'll stack the bentos on your stomach. Don't let them fall off."

Daichi did as he was told, and Suga was laughing evilly as he helped Kiyoko balance the bentos carefully on Daichi's abdomen, which rose and fell a little with every breath. Soon, it was done, and Hinata took pictures before they finally let Daichi up.

"Hinata, Truth or Dare?" Daichi asked, directing it at the small boy across him.

"Dare!"

"I dare you to clean up what Suga threw up there with tissue."

Suga smiled sheepishly at Hinata. "Sorry?"

"It's going to be just like mopping the gym floor, right? No big deal." Hinata shrugged, and called out to Suga as he cleaned up the fluids. "Suga-san, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth." He didn't feel much up to a Dare.

"Ummm…anyone got any good ones?" Hinata asked after wracking his brain. Yachi produced a plastic bag for him to throw the used tissues in. Daichi laughed.

"You're supposed to ask the question!"

"Okay. So…why's your hair silver?"

"Coz my mom's is."

Yachi started to giggle while Suga kept a straight face as Hinata frowned.

"Why's your mom's hair silver?"

"Coz my grandfather's is."

Kiyoko let out a light, breezy giggle.

"Why's your grandfather's hair silver?"

"Coz he's old."

Daichi let out a loud snort while Suga maintained his straight face, looking at Hinata who was definitely puzzled right now seriously.

"You're kidding!" Hinata finally decided.

"Nah, his grandpa's hair is really silver." Daichi informed.

"But…why isn't mine silver? My grandpa's got silver hair too!"

"That's white." Suga deadpanned as Yachi erupted into giggles.

Hinata gave up as Suga picked his next victim with a kind smile.

"Yachi-san? Truth or Dare?"

"Um, Dare!" The other Dares didn't seem so bad so far, and she wanted to try her hand at being brace and trying a new thing. Plus, Suga-san was always so kind, so he won't do anything overly bad.

"I dare you to eat my bento."

Daichi sniggered. Hinata was torn between laughter and pity. Kiyoko silently retrieved the spicy mapo tofu from the stack of bentos and handed it to a stricken Yachi with a pair of chopsticks.

 _It's just mapo tofu, I just have to finish it. Just shove mouth after mouth-what if it's poisoned?! Suga-san would never do something like that, would he? Or could there be food poisoning later? I would have to keep going to the toilet, and Hinata says that there are all sorts of scary people at toilets-no no no I don't want that! I might get kidnapped!_

"I don't wanna get kidnapped!" Yachi shrieked, snapping out of her trance suddenly. The rest of them looked at her with a bemused expression.

"I've learned a long time ago not to choose Dare when playing with Suga." Daichi stated solemnly. "If only we could have saved you, Yachi-san. We will avenge you when you are gone."

Kiyoko-san interjected gently. "It can't be any worse than the time he made me touch Noya's cheek. Even though I kind of turned it into a slap, the effects are still lingering."

Hinata didn't know Suga as long as the others had, and cautiously took a bite of the mapo tofu. Suga was sitting as far as he could away from the bento, the smell still assaulting him, not in a good way. Still, a wicked grin spread across his face as Hinata choked on it and began coughing viciously, snorting tofu out of his nostrils. He silently snapped a picture as Daichi slapped Hinata on the back, only to hurt the small boy more.

Finally deciding that it was enough, Suga went over and gently tipped Hinata's head back, flushing milk down his mouth. The small spiker finally calmed as the milk removed the bulk of the spice, but a fiery aftertaste was still lingering. Yachi looked like she wanted to cry, and Suga hastily reassured her that Hinata had taken the dare for her, that she didn't need to eat it now. Kiyoko closed the bento as Yachi silently selected her for the next round, being too dumbstruck to speak.

"Dare."

"I dare you to…um, touch Suga-san's cheek." Yachi, even with her kind and sweet nature, was not forgetting Suga's dare anytime soon.

Suga looked worriedly at Kiyoko as she shifted closer. "No slaps?"

"No slaps." She agreed, and pinched his cheek.

"Owwww! Ki-yo-ko-san!" Suga whined.

"That's for torturing my kouhai." Kiyoko said simply. "Hinata, Truth or Dare?"

And so on the game went. Suga dared Daichi to braid Kiyoko's hair, and the tofu was declared to be on the list of things crossing the 'Dare line' when Kiyoko tried to dare Hinata into taking a second bite. Yachi and Hinata learned one thing which cannot be taught by a teacher, but instead during an afternoon of Truth or Dare with their senpais.

Their two sweet, kind, beautiful, innocent senpais were demons.

Daichi almost seemed like an angel the moment he declared tofu off limits, and Suga and Kiyoko actually looked disappointed. Hinata tried to have Suga take a bite of his own tofu, but Daichi said that Suga wasn't up to it, and Hinata fell back with a pout.

It was an hour later which found the sun beating heavily down upon them, Kiyoko, Yachi and Hinata eating their bentos-their _own_ bentos, none of them touching Suga's-and Suga curled on his side in the small shade provided by the tree growing beside the roof. Daichi was worriedly fingering Suga's head, while the setter always tried to bat him off.

"Just leave me alone for a while, okay?" Suga said tiredly. "I don't really feel good, it's just the stupid headache again. You don't have to be worried, I can take care of myself."

"You were better yesterday though." Hinata piped up. "I even talked to you on the phone and everything."

Hinata, unable to sleep at night, with no Kageyama, had called Suga. The setter had patiently stayed up with him, talking and soothing until the young spiker finally fell asleep.

"There're ups and downs. I'm fine, really." Suga left it at that, and Daichi reluctantly ate his own bento in their small circle as well.

"I talked to his mother while you were distracting him over there." Kiyoko whispered in his ear when he sat down. "She's coming to pick him up in twenty minutes."

Daichi nodded his thanks, diving into his food. Hinata and Yachi sat by glumly, the car accident returning to their minds yet again. Kiyoko noticed, and smiled gently at them.

"It's going to be like this for a while. The others will be returning soon as well, and I know that Hinata for one, you're going to visit Kageyama later. So don't run from it."

"Treat it like volleyball games if it helps. Our pride was hurt when we were defeated by Aoba Johsai last time, but we have been working hard. We went to training camps, we trained hard. We took every penalty, we developed new attacks to prepare for our next confrontation. So treat it like that. People were hurt, yes. Our team, our _family_ was hurt. So we work hard to help them recover. We take the consequences, and we develop ways to confront the fear, the injuries, the disabilities, the very real threat of death." Daichi said.

"You still have your senpais, remember?" Suga smiled weakly as he turned on his side to face them. "We will always, always be here. Call us in the middle of the night if you need to. It's okay to depend on someone else."

Hinata and Yachi nodded uncertainly.

 _Death, huh._

Hinata found himself oddly calm, thinking about how close they had come to death sitting beside an unconscious Kageyama. His hair had been cropped short, since it was already burnt by the fire at the edges, so they just cut it short enough until it was even and there were no charred edges. He remembered how Kenoshita had almost gone brain dead, and that Tsukishima was still clinging onto life barely, just by a wisp of thread, somewhere among the long, winding corridors of the hospital.

He just wanted to play volleyball.

 _What would the Little Giant do?_

Whenever he asked that question, it would normally be when he was in the middle of a game, and the answer always came easily.

 _He would jump, and jump, and keep jumping, and spike the ball as hard as he can!_

"He would fight, and fight, and keep fighting, and do his best to help his teammates." Hinata said aloud, remembering Daichi's words, Suga, Kiyoko, and Yachi.

Yachi was doing all the research she could on muscle therapy, with Kiyoko helping. Daichi and Suga had plans to visit Tanaka, but Hinata had no idea whether Suga was up to that after the migraine that morning. Nevertheless, they were all doing their best to support each other.

And Hinata wanted to be there for Kageyama, for Yamaguchi, even for Tsukishima.

That's why he wouldn't run away from the hospital, from all reminders of the accident. Instead, he was determined to immerse himself in the accident, to accept that it happened and do his best to fix it.

That was all he could do.

* * *

Suga came by with Daichi in tow. Tanaka did not want to see them, but his parents were all too happy to usher his friends in.

"Ryuu's holed himself up in Saeko's room. He keeps blasting Saeko's music all day long. We asked him what stuff of hers he'd like to keep and whether he wanted to help plan the funeral and he just looked at us all weird, like why we'd want to do that." Mrs. Tanaka's voice scraped a little, but she seemed to be handling her daughter's death relatively well compared to her son.

Daichi helped Suga up the stairs. That morning's spell had turned out to be brief, only lasting for one hour twenty five minutes.

 _One hour and twenty five minutes too long._ Daichi thought.

"Ryuu?" Suga called before pushing the bamboo door of Saeko's room open. Rock music wailed and pounded, nearly setting off a new headache. Ryuu was curled up in a corner beside Saeko's futon. CDs and video games were scattered all over the floor, and Ryuu was furiously pushing the buttons of Saeko's new PsP, which was a racing game.

"Ryuu." Suga sat down beside him, pushing away the boxes of video games. "Ryuu!"

Tanaka paid him no mind, but he was definitely pushing the buttons harder and more furiously.

"Tanaka Ryuunosuke!" Daichi wrenched the PSP out of Tanaka's hands. Tanaka glared up at him balefully. "You made me lose the game."

"Game or no, it's time for you to breathe some fresh air. Want to go for a coffee?" Suga asked. "Then we can go visit the others at the hospital."

"No."

"Why? You care about them, so visit them and put your own mind at peace." Suga frowned. Tanaka's face, his eyes were blank.

"No!" Tanaka responded more forcefully this time, pushing Suga away and getting up, pacing around the room. "Stop bothering me! Just, go home! I don't want any of this, everything's going on, trying to be normal, but _Saeko is gone!_ How do you expect me to go on? It's Saeko! Things can't go on! Saeko's not here anymore!"

Daichi grabbed Tanaka's arm. Tanaka whirled, and found himself in a firm hug.

"I'm sorry, Ryuu." Daichi whispered, warmth radiating from his hand into Tanaka's body.

"You can. You must. Saeko wouldn't want-"

"Stop telling me what Saeko would want!" Tanaka wrenched himself out of Daichi's forceful hug and turned on Suga, who looked calmly at him. "You don't know Saeko, you never will know her properly because she's dead!"

Suga closed his eyes, took in a deep breath through his nose. "But you have to. You still have your father and mother. Your teammates. Us. We _need_ you to go on. We aren't telling you to forget Saeko. We just want you to know-the world isn't ending yet. Saeko is important, yes. But no matter how important something is, we always learn how to live without it when it's gone. What would you do if I died now?"

Tanaka stopped. "You won't." Not after Saeko.

"There's always the possibility. Like we never thought that Saeko could die in the car crash just like that. I could fall down the stairs and crack my head open-"

"Suga."

"Main point is, we might all die any time. If I died now, I want you to go on and spend time with everyone you love and care for because _they_ might die anytime as well and I don't want you to waste your time mourning for one already gone when you still have so many people around here who might be gone any time and you're wasting that time. You could be the one gone next, you never know."

Tanaka's eyes were wide and trembling by this point. "I…don't…"

"Play her games some other time, okay?"

Tanaka launched himself into Suga's embrace.

"I just wanted…to finish her games. For her. She liked the racing games so much, she drove so fast, and in those games I could always get a new life. Saeko-nii can't, she can't!"

Daichi gathered both setter and spiker in his arms, anchoring both of them. Suga's tears trickled silently down Tanaka's head, and Tanaka was crying, crying hard. The CD moved on from rock music to a softer, more calming song.

As if Saeko was lulling her baby brother to sleep and peace, one last time.

* * *

 _Thank the Internet breakdown for this longer chapter. I couldn't do anything but write, literally. Normally I write while reading fanfiction and looking up fanart…oops. Anyways, this is mainly about the less injured victims returning to real life, discovering that life will go on, etc. Next I will move things on…like Asahi waking up, Tsukishima's dad coming back, and probably Saeko's funeral. If the first two get too long, I'm doing the funeral in another chapter._

 _And…somehow a load of reviews got dumped on me…thanks!_

 _SmileyXs Ice-cream Sprinkles: Your tone sounds just like your username, full of smiles and rainbows_ _Thanks a ton!_

 _Nishinoyaoyaoya: I did get the correct spelling, right? How did your test go? I hope I didn't ruin it :p_

 _.isa: Yeah…little by little…slow progress is what counts, right?_

 _Kuroiusagalice: Why do you guys always pick usernames that are so hard to spell? Did I get it wrong? I hope I didn't. Well…someone had to take the second worst hit, and Saeko got the worst. I had Physics classes the day I started it, so I estimated the car's trajectory and stuff…and with Tsukishima's personality he's the most likely to sit by the window listening to music etc, so yeah._

 _MrR3DP4ND4: Your username is like a password…anyway, thanks! Yeah, the idea isn't fresh, but I wanted to do something real before my interest either dies out or I get a new idea. You can see the pattern from my Ao No Exorcist fanfics. The first one was based on tons of stuff and the recent ones were more original._

 _Crungex: Thanks! I'll try to keep my updating stable, but exams are approaching-I can hear the sinister snarls already-so, I'll just try my best?_

 _Guest: Thanks a ton! I'm switching between point of views right now, so yeah, I do like to focus on some more than others in a chapter, but I've been doing my best to ensure that everyone gets a turn, and I'm glad you think so! Thanks for reading my story!_


	5. Fourth Day

_**Upside Down: Chapter Five**_

* * *

It was almost dramatic and movie-like.

Mr. Azumane had tiredly agreed to Ennoshita's offer to watch over his son for a while as he freshened up in the bathroom. The boy felt stupid, just sitting there and staring, so he started to speak.

"Asahi-san. Come back to us."

He felt even stupider by then, but it quickly turned to amazement when Asahi's finger twitched.

Ennoshita didn't call for the doctors, scared that his eyes and his imagination might be playing tricks on him. He cautiously approached the prone form. "Asahi…?"

No response. He tried again. "Asahi. Come back to us. It hurts, but please, come back."

One more twitch. Ennoshita was sure that it was real this time. His head swiveled in the direction of the bathroom, wondering what he should do. "Asahi-san? Wake up. Time out's over."

Asahi's eyes opened.

Ennoshita's breath caught, and he latched onto Asahi's wrist.

"Stay." He said firmly, his free hand moving for the buzzer beside the bed.

Asahi smiled gently.

And stay he did.

* * *

Tsukishima Katsuro strode through the airport, talking on his phone. He had been using it ever since he got off the plane, and he was already thinking about what procedures he would have to go through, the paperwork, the amount of money that would be required to transfer Kei to a better, private hospital.

He needed his boy to have the best treatment, the best life that he could offer.

But for that, he needed money. He needed connections. He needed power and influence in the world of business. And he had accomplished that. His eldest son, Akiteru (bright light, he remembered how dazzled he was when his first son was born) had gotten a steady job which wouldn't tax him but still yielding a high pay thanks to his pulling the strings in the background. His younger son, Kei (firefly, how little and bright he had looked with that tuft of bright blonde hair inherited from his father) was yielding decent grades, so with donations here and there it wouldn't be hard to get him into a good university, even Harvard or Oxford if he so wished. He knew about his younger son's fanatic lust after dinosaurs, as suspicious bills from dinosaur themed shops kept popping up from the credit card he had given his younger son. Perhaps he would like to be an archeologist. It could be easily arranged.

He did not hail a taxi. He did not need to. One of his two secretaries was in charge of planning everything for his current trip, and had ordered a limousine for him. The limousine took him straight to the hospital, and he wrinkled his nose as he entered the hospital, the smell of chemicals and medicine assaulting his nostrils. He ended his call, instead dialing another number.

Akiteru picked up on the fifth ring.

"Dad." He sounded tired, frazzled. "You're at the hospital now?"

"Yes." He confirmed, looking around. "Do you know where's the main office? I need to file some paperwork-move Kei to a better hospital."

"Dad." Akiteru's tone was exhausted, resigned. "At least come see him first, please? Mom's taken the first visit, there's only one left. Two visits per day."

"You take it." Katsuro replied without hesitation. "Once he's in a better place with better treatment, he'll heal faster and we can see him all day. I think I see a nurse-talk to you later. Tell your mom I said hi."

Five floors above, Akiteru let out an enraged yell and sank down on the blue waiting seat, head between hands.

 _Even after a car accident._ He thought bitterly, ignored the curious little guy that poked his head out of a door, sitting in a wheelchair. _He won't look at us._

Sometimes, Akiteru thinks that to their father, they always remain frozen at the moment when they are born. The idea that their father is just in love with the idea of them is terrifying, but also made things scarily clear. It actually explained a lot. He'd made plans for their future, prepared credit cards, a huge savings account-scrap that, several-to fall back on should his sons decide to go into the world of investment and mess up. But he'd never taken the time to actually _know_ them. He wondered how he himself and Kei looked from his father's perspective. The perfect sons to pour hope, love and money into? Or was he doing it out of simple obligation?

"Can I just call you by your first name? Calling you Tsukishima is just plain weird."

The boy had wheeled his chair to face Akiteru. He looked like he got caught in a fire, probably the same one that caught Kei, but this boy looked too much like a middle school student to be in Kei's volleyball club.

"Akiteru. Tsukishima Akiteru. Tsukishima is my name. Why would it be weird?" Akiteru deadpanned, thoughts of his father slowly swirling and congealing. Dimly, he recognized the feeling of resignation.

"Coz your brother's on my volleyball team, and given that I yell at him all the time using the name 'Tsukishima', I might accidentally yell at you out of reflex too." The boy said in complete seriousness, and Akiteru's face twitched, switching from suppressed laughter to incredulity. So this guy was really on Kei's team.

"What's your position?"

"Libero!" The boy became animated at that. "Every time the ball goes 'fluuuppp' I can go 'whoosh' and the ball will fly up like 'wahhhh'…"

Akiteru blinked. First Sugawara, now this. His brother certainly got himself into an…interesting…team. "Ah. I'm wing spiker. I went to your school once before, during its glory days. I didn't hold any important positions though."

"Saeko-nii remembered you." The boy's eyes were wide, shining and glossy. Akiteru had a sudden, hard flashback to a punk looking girl hanging out at the bleachers, watching while they practiced. A lot of girls did that, since they liked to cheer the boys (and their secret crushes) on, but this girl stuck because she wasn't cheering or anything, just kept her eyes fixed on them in a bored fashion. But the glint in her eye-Akiteru would notice whenever someone spiked a particularly good toss, or did a nice receive-it proved that she wasn't here to just cheer them on. She was a true fan of volleyball. Akiteru had always wondered why she had never just joined the girls' volleyball club and be done with it.

They were in different classes, and so Akiteru had never asked.

"Was she caught in the accident?" Akiteru was still unclear about the details, he had only talked to Sugawara about it, and that was mostly about the aftermath.

"She died in it." The small boy's voice was clear and unwavering, stating a fact. "Her funeral's tomorrow."

It hit Akiteru, hard.

"Wha-Was she-"

"Her funeral's tomorrow."

So someone had died in the accident. Someone else could die. Someone like his little brother.

"Her brother dropped by this morning. Said that Daichi-san and Suga-san, our captains, dropped by his place. He's feeling much better now, but, yeah."

"Can I go?" The words were out of his mouth before he knew it. He never properly knew the girl, but somehow had the feeling that, in another life, he would. There was a strange feeling of what should and what should not have been. Maybe in another life without iced roads and driving accidents, they would cheer for Kei and the younger Tanaka together from the bleachers, beaming in pride like the proud siblings they were.

The libero's face split into a wide grin, though it was lacking luster. "Sure! You're my plus-one!"

"What-it isn't a wedding, for God's sake!" Akiteru was wondering whether it should be considered a miracle that Kei had stuck for almost a full year with the team and hadn't quit yet.

"You smiled! See, you smiled!" The little guy was practically vibrating in his wheelchair, a true grin on his face this time. Startled, Akiteru found that his lips were indeed quirked upwards.

How long had it been since he last smiled? Since before the accident? Either way, he was glad to have it back now. His mother exited the ward, her twenty minutes up. "Aki-chan, it's your turn." She called, and Akiteru realized that his mother had never expected his father to come see Kei. The libero wheeled himself down the corridor, waving goodbye, presumably to see his teammates. Akiteru was about to enter the room when he paused, and turned.

"What's your name?"

"Nishinoya Yuu. The Guardian Deity of Karasuno!"

"…" He wondered yet again how Kei put up with them as Nishinoya attempted a pose and nearly tipped his wheelchair over.

* * *

Tanaka was in a place that would ruin his good reputation forever, doing something that would be the shame of him for years to come.

He was standing in a flower shop, picking out flowers that would form a wreath around Saeko's picture, brow wrinkled as he stared at the beautiful, delicate flowers that were bullying him into a headache.

Traditionally, his parents would have gone with chrysanthemums, but Tanaka said no. He wanted Saeko to have something special. Chrysanthemums, according to the plaque, symbolized death, lamentation and grief, and he wasn't sure that he wanted the Tanaka household to be filled with that. It was no place of his to say what Saeko would think, but grief and lamentation didn't fit her personality very well. Roses were sometimes used in funerals as well, but love, grace and gentleness still, wasn't Saeko.

If only Saeko had a favorite flower.

Tanaka continued browsing. Lilies and carnations seemed good, but innocence and admiration still didn't fit his sister well.

Then a bunch of pink white flowers at the counter caught his eye. Bright pink, shining, daring, but the white toning it down as it brought out the white roses in the middle. Tanaka practically ran over, the clerk eying him warily as he fingered the readymade bouquet.

"What are these flowers?" He practically begged.

"Cyclamens. They mean resignation, or, more commonly, goodbye. And _don't touch that bouquet the customer is coming by any minute!_ " The girl practically snatched it away from his probing hands.

"Where can I get more?" He asked.

Goodbye, huh.

"They're in the store. They're poisonous, so we don't just leave it out in the open where children can just wander in and pick at it." The girl rose, cradling the bouquet warily in her hands. "I'll get you some. Wait here, don't touch anything."

Tanaka's smile grew a little. Poisonous?

This was the perfect flower.

* * *

Kageyama wasn't surprised at all to wake the sound of Hinata yammering away about his day at school.

"-and Yachi-san got so terrified when the teacher threatened to kick us out of class if we skipped again like yesterday. But Kiyoko-san was amazing! She walked right up to the teacher and calmly explained something call PTTD, anyways, she got the teacher to shut up and-"

"And you all skipped off happily into the sunset." Kageyama interrupted tiredly. He had just woken, but his head was heavy from all the morphine. "Tell me something new, dumbass."

Hinata pouted, bouncing up from his chair to tower over Kageyama, for once. "Noooooo. Daichi-san forbid Suga-san from climbing anymore stairs even though the third year classes are already on the third floor. Then Michimiya-san came over and talked to Yachi, but Yachi went into a panic attack when both her and Kiyoko-san needed to leave for classes."

"What happened then?" For once, Kageyama was content with listening to this idiot talk. Filling him in on everything he had missed while the world continued to revolve while he was stuck unconscious in a hospital bed.

"So we didn't skip, obviously, but Kiyoko-san got special permission from the teachers to sit with Yachi-san during her free periods. Oh, and Ennoshita-san dropped by before he went off to see Asahi-san. He said that Saeko nii-san's funeral is tomorrow." Hinata's chattering grew slower by that point, the mention of the subject dimming his mood. Though Kageyama couldn't understand how Hinata could be that sunny in a hospital.

"Are you going?"

Hinata looked at his hands, twisted together. "Yeah, I mean, I want to? But I'm not sure if…Tanaka-san might cry and no one would know what to do, and everybody would be going 'wahhh' and I would be crying too, and then-"

"Maybe I could go." Kageyama said softly.

His skin was slowly growing back, the baby pink forming over the charred skin. Slow going, but still progress. He had felt the urge to scratch them when he first awakened, strangely calm, aware of his surroundings and how he got there, feeling pain but clear of how it had gotten there. His mother had stopped him though, her keeping vigil by his bedside. She had made porridge today for him, and he was pleasantly surprised. It had been months since he last tasted his mother's cooking, and that dish was instant noodles.

Hinata tipped his head to the side. "Can you? I mean, you got fried really badly."

"Fried…"A vein in his forehead twitched a little. "I should be okay. The risk of infection is already very low, so if I go in a wheelchair it should be no problem."

Hinata's eyes lit up. "Oooh! A wheelchair! Can I push it?"

"No! You'll just push it over every stray rock and crater you can find! And maybe tip me out in the process!" Kageyama could almost see what would happen in his mind. Hinata would be pushing him along, walking in that weird gait of his which seemed to be a skip, and then he would happily tip the wheelchair over, leaving Kageyama disgruntled on the ground.

Hinata pouted, but that expression did not remain long on his face as he tilted his head, hearing voices outside the door. Curious, he peeked out, only to receive a faceful of Nishinoya.

"So my little kouhai is hale and hearty!" Nishinoya cried, ruffling Hinata's hair vigorously. Catching a look of Kageyama over Hinata's shoulder, he added, "Ah, and the grumpy one."

Kageyama's vein twitched yet again.

After a few minutes of awkward struggling and hugging, Hinata finally managed to let Nishinoya and his wheelchair in. Nishinoya wheeled straight up to Kageyama's bedside. "So, how's our genius setter doing today?"

"Good." He replied shortly. "How are the others?"

What he really wanted to ask was whether they could still participate in the Winter Cup Tournament, but had a feeling that it might be a tad too insensitive, even for him.

"All good. Everyone's on the mend, but still nothing from Tsukishima." The libero replied shortly. "I talked to his brother just now while he was waiting for his turn to visit. I don't want to think about it if they have to take turns to visit. Anyway, do you still think we stand a chance in the Winter Cup Tournament?"

"…" Kageyama had forgotten that insensitivity was needless when talking to these two.

"Well, we should! We've been doing so much training…we can do it! We have to do it!" Hinata burst out passionately. "If anything, we'll show them that if we can beat a car accident, we can beat them!"

"Yeah! A car accident will definitely beat them, so if we beat this we'll technically have already beaten them!" Nishinoya high fived Hinata as Kageyama watched them wordlessly.

If Tsukishima had seen this, he would definitely have gone something like, "Ugh, I'm surrounded by idiots."

He's the tallest of their team at 187. His reach and height makes him the ideal middle blocker, and his cool, removed demeanor was an excellent balance to the rest of the team. He was essential to the team.

Damn it all, Kageyama cared about that dork.

An image of Tsukishima right after the crash flashed into his mind unbidden. He was the one tasked with pulling Tsukishima out as Asahi was too large and Noya too short, having crawled halfway into the car to grab his wrist. Everything just looked like a mess, blood and glass shards everywhere. The blond's glasses had flown off his face, lying beside its owner's head limply, lenses cracked. The long and spindly body had seemed to fold upon itself, giving way.

And everything blew up.

Kageyama shuddered, trying to summon an image of normal, snarky Tsukishima. The blonde hair, cropped short but with curls…

 _Stained and matted with blood._

Black rimmed glasses…

 _Cracked and broken on the ceiling of the car._

Kageyama tried to stop remembering. He was substituting every image, every memory he had of Tsukishima with that broken body he had seen, but he couldn't. He was seeing blood in the blonde's hair as he blocked a spike, his fingers snapping from the impact. Blood was oozing from a head wound as he received Kageyama's serves during practice as flames burst out, burning everything.

The heart monitor took a sudden leap, causing Nishinoya and Hinata to turn their attention away from Nishinoya's wheelchair and look at Kageyama, question marks all over their faces.

"Grumpy-chan?" Nishinoya asked worriedly.

"Oi! What's with the chan?" Kageyama snapped, pulling himself back into reality, forcing himself to not think about Tsukishima and concentrate on these two idiots.

"Aw, but it sounds cute! Isn't that right, Hinata?" The libero flashed a sunny smile at Hinata, whose eyes were sparkling.

"You did that and didn't get killed!" He gasped, looking at Nishinoya as if he wanted to fall on his knees and worship him. "I wanna try it too!"

"Okay, then repeat after me." Nishinoya had a smug look on his face despite Kageyama sending him glares that could kill. "Gr-roll the r, Hinata, the r!-ump-and pop the 'p', yes, like that-y chan. Now say it again!"

"Grumpy-chan!" Hinata grinned brightly, as Kageyama made a mental note to spike a volleyball into his face at the first chance he got.

Which might not be in a while anyway.

There was a tentative knock on the door, but Hinata and Nishinoya quickly tried to act as if they weren't just teasing the patient and were just carrying on perfectly normal, civilized conversation, thinking it was one of their mothers.

Instead, Yamaguchi peeked into the room timidly. "Can I um, come in?"

"Yamaguchiiiiiiiiiiii!" Hinata would have glomped the poor boy if not for the cast on his arm and multiple bandages wound on his limbs. Yamaguchi was startled, but entered the room, greeting Nishinoya and Kageyama as well.

"Uh…I'm just going to visit for a short while. I'm getting out day after tomorrow-they just wanted to make sure my gashes don't get infected. I'm hoping I get to see everyone before that." Yamaguchi explained softly. "Next week, I'll be going back to school, so I'll be able to take notes and homework for Tsukki by then."

"Oh. Does it still hurt?" Hinata asked, gesturing towards the sling.

"Um…not much, really, but they have me on painkillers, so…yeah." Yamaguchi shrugged with the shoulder without a sling tethered to it. His face fell a tiny bit. "It's going to be so long before I can start practicing my serves again though…"

Everyone's face fell when they realized just exactly how much practice they would be missing.

"Well." Nishinoya said, voice strong. "No matter what, we're riding this one through. At least we're still living, right? Even if we never get to play volleyball again, we're still a family and _family always looks out for each other._ Volleyball is just something that brings all of us together."

Kageyama blinked. Never in his life he would have expected this to come from Nishinoya.

To his surprise, Hinata was nodding along.

"As long as everyone's alive, I don't care!" He yelled determinedly, and Yamaguchi had to hush him. Kageyama smiled.

"Yeah." He said softly. "We still get to fight. Off the court, on the court. We fight our hardest, and that's Karasuno."

And Karasuno's crows, even with their wings broken and crushed, will fly again someday.

* * *

 _ **So…another day has passed. Next chapter I'll get to Narita or Kenoshita, depends, the funeral, and something will happen to Tsukki. Not revealing that something.**_

 _ **Anyway, for this chapter, a lot about Tsukishima's dad is based on speculation. I'm thinking of his father as a wealthy businessman (hey, headphones don't come cheap. I still don't have one) and his mother as an innocent, gullible woman who hasn't come into contact with the outside world much, which is why both brothers are so independent. I actually first read about this theory which actually explains so much on Tumblr, but I forgot the original source... Tsukishima daddy's name, Katsuro is chosen for the meaning-strong. The flowers also have meanings which I had a lot of fun researching, but then realized that I had backed myself into a corner. Saeko and flowers just don't go well together, so I decided on a poisonous one in the end. Oops. And lastly…in this chapter I'm officially starting the mental injuries. Nightmares, hallucinations, flashbacks and the like.**_

 _ **Smiley: Okay, I'm just going to call you Smiley. My image of you right now is…Hinata XD There's this test on which Haikyuu character you resemble most, and I think you'll most probably get Hinata. And reading reviews are always fun, so yeah, I laughed the whole way through your review. The Internet breakdown was…inconvenient, since I couldn't do research or my projects. But yeah, it helped me finish the chapter. Am I supposed to be happy that my writing moved you to tears?**_


	6. Fifth Day

_**To-AntigoneEvenstar: There's going to be sad moments, but it's a journey uphill-it'll be difficult, but eventually they'll be happy.**_

 _ **Smiley: Thank you! Wow, it looks like you really enjoyed the last chapter. And you're as excited as ever. I hope you'll enjoy this one too!**_

 _ **Phoenix McLean: Ehehehehe XD**_

 _ **Freedom S Fun: Thank you! If it's going to be stuck in your head, might as well make use of it in Biology and English classes XD**_

 _ **Sorry everyone for the late update! Things got hectic…but I'm back.**_

* * *

 _ **Upside Down Chapter Six**_

It didn't rain. Honestly, Narita was taken by surprised that it didn't.

It was always supposed to rain on funerals. Especially in Japan, where it rains five days out of a week. Instead, the weather was cold and dry, with no trace of moisture. He readjusted the bandages on his head and limped towards Tanaka on his crutches, who was sitting in the front row.

His friend might be giving a speech about his sister later. Honestly, Narita didn't know how he was coping. Maybe it was because of the team that surrounded him. Silver hair and soft features were there, sitting to his left as a silent support. Dark and steady Daichi sat beside Suga. Hinata and Kageyama were present as well, sitting beside Daichi, Kageyama's wheelchair taking up space. Noya was on the other side of Tanaka, in a wheelchair as well. The two girl managers were present as well, a row behind the boys. Directly behind Suga was a blonde boy strangely reminiscent of Tsukishima, and Narita nearly started at the first sight of him, thinking that it was _really_ Tsukishima, but then noticed the height difference and subtle differences in body language. Yamaguchi was sitting alone a seat away from the Tsukishima look alike, and he looked small, hunched over and cradling his broken arm close to his body. Narita took the seat beside Yamaguchi, and they exchanged greetings, but said nothing more.

Suga turned and said something to the blonde boy, then noticed Narita. A bright smile was given, and Narita felt himself relaxing, and smiled back. Seriously, how did Suga obtain such skills?

"How are you doing, Narita? Did you bring extra painkillers?" He asked, while Daichi turned to stop Hinata and Kageyama's quarrelling, which was getting a bit too loud and boisterous for a funeral.

Narita nodded. His mother had been apprehensive about him going out and about so soon, but Narita felt that it was about time anyway. She couldn't very well keep him cooped up in a room, mother henned forever.

"That's good then. Don't feel shy about leaving or telling someone if you feel bad halfway through." Suga told him firmly. Even though Narita hadn't said anything, the tone of Suga's voice made him feel like he had made a promise. He nodded silently, sealing it. Suga turned back to face the front, satisfied. Narita tapped Tanaka's shoulder and passed his silver envelope containing money to him. It was a tradition, done during Wake, but Narita couldn't be present for that, but he was determined to offer what little condolences he could.

Startled, Tanaka pushed the envelope back towards him. "No, Wake was last night. You don't have to-"

The priest stepped up to the coffin, with Saeko's portrait set in front of it with a wreath of soft, rosy pink flowers. Tanaka was forced to stay silent and Narita grabbed the opportunity to shove the envelope into Tanaka's pocket.

The priest began the kaimyo ceremony, giving Saeko a new Buddhist name to carry into the afterlife. Narita wondered if the family had any say in what name would be chosen, but judging from the look on Tanaka's face as he leaned forward curiously, they didn't.

"Gone and to dust is Tanaka Saeko. For new beginnings and a new life, I name you Sora."

A murmur of contentment went up from the people present who knew Saeko, and Narita smiled.

 _The sky._

The priest stepped down, allowing the family members and friends to say their piece about Saeko before the flowers are placed and the coffin nailed. Mr. Tanaka went up first.

"She was always a bit wild, my daughter. Saeko was her given name, serene child, but she seemed determined to escape that name. Anything but serene, she brought us a lot of trouble and joy." He paused. "Some actions…I do not approve of, and still do not, but what I can say is…our family is incomplete without her. This will always be her home, her family, and we will always, always long for her to be back. I remember…when she was just born, and didn't cry, but just blinked up at me. So serene, so beautiful. That's why we named her that. But then…a few more days and we saw her real colors. Annoying but comforting at the same time, that's her. Our daughter."

Mrs. Tanaka started crying as Mr. Tanaka went down and passed the microphone to her.

"I…love her. My baby girl. That's all I have to say, really. I'm going to miss my little sweet girl, my grown up rebellious teenager."

Narita noticed that Tanaka's adam apple was starting to bob up and down with emotions as someone passed the mic to him, the stage forgotten as he took it and began speaking from where he sat.

"My best sister in the whole world. I miss her. She didn't deserve that." His voice trembled. "No one deserved that. No matter how reckless they are, how disobedient, no one deserves to die because of one mistake. We are supposed to learn from our mistakes, not die from them. So please, everyone." He swallowed, hard. "Don't repeat her mistake. Please. And even though she made one mistake, she was about perfect in every other way. She cheered me on at volleyball matches, she even checked out the boys' team at Karasuno when I was in middle school for me, reporting everything. She can't be replaced, there's always gonna be a vacuum in my life, but I'm sure as hell not going to turn her into a negative memory. I want to remember her smiling."

Suga pulled him into a hug as Nishinoya twitched in his chair, suppressing the urge to save the mic that fell to the ground as Tanaka shook and went limp in Suga's embrace. A weird 'flump' sound echoed from the speakers, as Daichi saved the mic too late.

"I'm not gonna bawl anymore. Thank you." Tanaka whispered in Suga's ear after a while. Suga nodded, let go.

The three remaining Tanakas stood together as the priest gestured for them to come forward, put on gloves and walked up to the coffin where Saeko's body was laid, presumably in a white kimono, as per tradition. They started to lay the flowers out along the body as the others watched, solemnly and in silence.

The basket of flowers was quickly finished, and they stepped back, allowing the workers to quickly and effectively hammer the coffin shut, sealing Saeko away from them forever. The coffin was carefully hefted up on their shoulders and taken away, and the small crowd slowly started to disperse to their cars. Some would come to the crematorium later, some wouldn't. Narita wanted to go.

Tsukishima look alike stood abruptly, staggering a little as the blood rushed to his legs a little too fast, then sprinted away from his seat. Suga started after him, but he slipped into a white car and gunned the engine before slowing abruptly, remembering Tanaka's words. Suga sighed and lowered his outstretched arm.

"Is everyone coming?" Daichi turned to his team.

Nods from everyone.

"Let's go. I'll drive, if nobody minds." Daichi hustled Suga, Narita and Yamaguchi into his small car. Hinata was going with Kageyama's mother's car, which had been adjusted to accommodate Kageyama's temporary disability. Nishinoya's parents were taking their son as well, unwilling to let him out of their sight.

Suga got shotgun, and Narita nestled himself with his crutches beside Yamaguchi, who was pale and shivering.

"Are you okay?" He asked softly, not wanting to draw attention. Suga turned sharply, but breathed in softly and turned back front, as if he'd heard nothing. Yamaguchi looked up, blinking. "Y-Yeah."

"Does it still hurt? I have painkillers, they should work on you as well, our sizes aren't much different, neither are our injuries." Narita started to rummage in his coat pocket for the tiny bottle of painkillers.

Yamaguchi laughed softly. "A broken arm and a broken leg. We're quite the pair."

His kouhai had a nice laugh, he realized. It was just that he had heard it used so often in a response to a comment Tsukishima made that he never took any note of it. "Yeah," he shook a pill into the palm of Yamaguchi's hand. Suga silently handed a bottle of water over from the front seat, and Narita momentarily paused to wonder how Suga always had the right things at the right times. Where did he even put all those stuff?

Yamaguchi swallowed, and his face relaxed. "Thanks."

"Nervous about being in a car again?" Suga smiled softly as Daichi made a careful turn onto the main road. "Don't worry. Daichi's skills are good. Most importantly, he's careful, unlike when he's playing volleyball."

"Hey!" Daichi protested just as he spotted the funeral procession up ahead, slowing the car to follow it. "I've always been careful with volleyball. I put my team first every time!"

"And that ended so well. What about the time in our second year that you nearly got a concussion from cracking your head into the gym floor just because you were trying to catch up with the ball before Nishinoya could? And that was during _practice_." Suga lightly bounced his fist off Daichi's head. Yamaguchi giggled and Narita snorted. He remembered that all right.

What Suga didn't mentioned was how panicked they'd been. How Nishinoya had immediately placed the ball into Daichi's unresponsive hands, how Tanaka had paused in the middle of ripping off his shirt to cheer for Nishinoya. How Suga had cradled Daichi's head in his arms, how Ennoshita and Kenoshita had stood, wide eyed and terrified. How the team captain and vice captain had rushed for a phone only to crash into each other.

"And then Narita here got a pail of water and dumped it on his head. Woke him up alright." Suga grinned at the fond memory. Yamaguchi chuckled as color returned to his face, the painkillers kicking in. Narita sheepishly avoided Daichi's glare.

"So it was you." He growled playfully. Then glared at Suga. "Who's the one with a concussion now?"

Suga looked at Daichi reproachfully and Yamaguchi couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh, a clear tinkling laugh that hadn't been heard ever since…since the accident. Though they visited each other regularly, Yamaguchi had always seemed drawn and quiet, small and unresponsive without Tsukishima.

At least he would have someone to support him now if Tsukishima was gone.

Tsukishima gone.

Suddenly Narita realized why Tsukishima look alike had bolted earlier. He must have been imagining his brother in that coffin, his family going through those rites. Except that the coffin would be resized to be longer, probably narrower, and Tsukishima's glasses would either be folded up and placed beside him or set neatly in place on his face, drained of color and empty without the smirk he usually wore. The flowers would probably have darker colors. The given name would be male, and hopefully suit him as well as Saeko's did.

Shuddering, Narita shook himself out of those thoughts. Suga was happily divulging more of Daichi's more embarrassing moments as Yamaguchi listened, his eyes glinting, probably thinking of what Tsukishima would say to a particular tidbit of information. Daichi was scowling, but Narita knew that there was a smile hidden under it, that he could see what Suga was doing.

"Almost there." The funeral procession was entering the solemn gates of the crematorium, and the happy atmosphere in the car quickly dropped as they prepared themselves to see the last remnant of Saeko burnt and erased.

Daichi parked the car and Suga hopped out first, opening the door for Narita and helping him to maneuver out the car door with his crutches while Daichi led Yamaguchi inside, where the entire Tanaka family stood, waiting. Halfway inside, Narita spotted Nishinoya and Kageyama's cars veer into the court.

There were a few more rites, to purify and cleanse. No last parting words were said as the workers deftly laid Saeko's body on the slab of stone which would feed her body to the fires. The dancing flames seemed almost ethereal as they swallowed up the body of the girl who had loudly yelled for them at matches, the grinning girl who teased her younger brother's friends, who made breakfast for them when they slept over, who loved volleyball just like any one of them, who would do anything for Karasuno's team, even make an entire trip to Tokyo just to send them there.

Tanaka did not sob this time. He reached out, as if to hold his sister's hand one last time, but it was ripped away from him.

His fingers curled into his palm, empty.

Then another fist met his in a fist bump. He looked up, to see Nishinoya.

Another hand in a similar gesture touched his. Daichi.

One pale fist. Suga.

A trembling fist. Yamaguchi.

Two shaking fists. Hinata and Kageyama.

Narita smiled slightly and reached out his own, fitting seamlessly into the circle.

No one would be alone anymore.

A drop of rain splattered on the cement outside as Saeko's ashes spiraled up, up, up. In accordance with her name, Sato, she was to be released into the sky. Fighting the current, fighting the rain.

Suga's phone rang, echoing loudly in the silent atmosphere. Embarrassed, he ducked out to take the call.

Narita stared at the flames, which burnt bright imprints into his eyes. The rain was coming down, the trickle quickly turning into a downpour. As suiting to a funeral.

Nishinoya, Kageyama and Hinata left first, hurrying to their respective transportation, trying to beat the rain. The Tanaka family was ushered to another room as the remaining ashes were swept up to be stored in an urn. Narita, Daichi and Yamaguchi were left in the main hall, waiting for Suga to finish his phone call.

Suga snapped his phone shut after two more minutes.

"Anyone feel like going to the hospital again today?" He asked, forcing a smile. "Tsukishima's awake."

Daichi's car pulled out of the parking lot ten minutes later, rain battering against the car that held five people in it. Tanaka had overheard and insisted on following them. His parents let him, knowing that it was better for their son to spend time with the living, the memory of his spiral downwards still fresh. The spiker was squashed between Yamaguchi and Narita, fidgeting and bouncing with a nervous energy that no one would have thought he still possessed. Funerals normally tend to take a lot out of you, but this one seemed to only make Tanaka more nervous and agitated.

"…we're allowed in?" Yamaguchi asked.

"I suppose so. He should be out of the danger stage since he's awake now anyway." Suga answered, fiddling with his phone. Daichi cast a side glance at the setter, but said nothing. "I don't know what I should say to him though…"

"Who called?" Narita couldn't suppress his curiosity. He knew that Suga had conversed with the other two members of the Tsukishima family before, but he didn't know that their familiarity extended to exchanging phone numbers. Then again, it was Suga, so he shouldn't be surprised.

"His mother." Suga answered. "She talked with my mom before, and-oh." His phone screen lit up and Suga scanned the text quickly. "Ah, they transferred him to another hospital a few hours ago. Take the second exit, not this one, Daichi. It's Tokyo Private Hospital, you know the one, right?"

Daichi keyed in the location to his phone's GPS, and seconds later the phone beeped an affirmative. "Got it."

Suga noticed Narita's curious glance at his phone and said without prompting, "His brother."

Tanaka's eyebrows rose. "So you know the brother and your mom knows the mother? Are your families long time friends or what?"

"Lucky coincidences. Waiting room meetings." Suga said as a brief explanation. "After that we just kept bumping into each other in between visits, so we ended up exchanging phone numbers. Same thing happened to our moms."

" _Turn left and exit the highway via Exit 301 in 50 meters."_ The GPS said coolly.

"Oh." Came Yamaguchi's small voice.

Narita realized that even though Yamaguchi was Tsukishima's best friend, he didn't seem to have much contact with the rest of the Tsukishima family. Otherwise, he'd be the one contacted.

"A private hospital, though?" Tanaka asked. "Tsukki-daddy must be crazy rich. Those cost thousands for a night, especially for ICU patients like him."

Daichi shrugged as he executed the turn carefully. "Who knows."

" _Drive straight for 800 meters."_

"I think his family probably wanted the best care for him." Yamaguchi ventured carefully. "He lives in a normal neighborhood, and his house didn't seem lavish or extravagant."

"Well, as long as that care works." Narita said. "He woke up after all, didn't he?"

" _Turn right in twenty meters."_

Daichi followed the instructions. Tanaka's energy levels upped even more, if possible.

" _You have reached your destination."_

The huge building loomed over them. It was clean, crisp and modern, giving off the feel of an efficient and highly-functioning hospital. No wonder Tsukishima's dad had transferred him here. Even by appearance, you couldn't help but think that this is going to be the answer to your problems.

Daichi found a parking spot (labeled carefully to be for visitors) and parked the car. They went through the same process of exiting the car, but this time Tanaka dogged Narita's heels, making sure he didn't fall. Narita felt that his attention was both adorable and annoying. Really, he'd had these crutches for two days now, and he could keep his balance perfectly well.

There were stairs, and a ramp beside. Narita frowned, trying to choose. The ramp would pose dangers for his careful balance, and the stairs was a matter of hopping up one by one, eating up a lot of his flagging energy. The painkillers numbed him, but sometimes also put him to sleep.

And Tanaka swooped in, easily lifting Narita up while Daichi caught the crutches. They ascended the stairs, and Narita was thankful for the rain, since it kept everyone inside and no one was there to see him being carried like a princess. Tanaka gently set him down and his crutches were handed back to him.

"Thanks." He muttered gratefully, and they passed through the automatic doors, to be immediately intercepted by a receptionist.

"May I ask whether you're seeking treatment or visiting?" She asked politely.

"Visiting." Daichi answered for all of them. "Tsukishima Kei. We were invited by the family." He had subconsciously adopted a crisp tone to match their surroundings and the person he was addressing.

The receptionist nodded politely. "Please, have a seat." She gestured to the lounge and eyed Narita. "I will confirm this with the family. It will only take a moment."

Everyone couldn't help but keep straight backs as they sat.

"Scary." Tanaka muttered, watching the lady dial a number and talk into the receiver. "Everything's so systematic and perfect."

Suga laughed, but it was softer, making it known that he was just as uncomfortable as they were. "That's supposed to be a good thing, Ryuu."

The receptionist was already striding back towards them. "Who gave you the permission?" She asked bluntly, not cutting corners. "Mr. Tsukishima says that he knows of none that he has given permission to visit."

"Ah, it was the mother and brother. I can call them-" Suga started to say, but was cut off.

"No. Tsukishima Kei was registered here under the patronage of Mr. Tsukishima, and I cannot allow you in without his permission." The receptionist was unyielding.

"Maybe we should just go-" Yamaguchi started, wanting to avoid conflict, but Suga gently pressed a hand to his shoulder.

"It's alright." He turned to the receptionist. "May I speak with Mr. Tsukishima? I will ask him to clarify with his wife and elder son about their wishes for us to visit his youngest son. If you want, I can reimburse you for the phone's fee."

The receptionist hesitated, but was disarmed by Suga's small, warm smile. "Very well. Three minutes."

"Thank you very much." Suga didn't rush for the hard earned phone, but matched the receptionist's pace and bowed deeply, before taking the phone and calling the preset number of Mr. Tsukishima.

The phone rang five times before it finally connected.

" _Good morning. This is Tsukishima Katsuro's secretary."_

"Could I speak to Mr. Tsukishima? I am a friend of Kei, his younger son, and we require his permission to visit him."

" _May I have your name? Your entire group's names as well."_

"I'm Sugawara Koushi. With me are Sawamura Daichi, Yamaguchi Tadashi, Tanaka Ryuunosuke and Kazuhito Narita."

" _Thank you. Please hold."_

Tanaka's foot tapped out an unsteady rhythm on the floor, but he stopped once he realized what he was doing. Suga waited patiently.

After a moment, the secretary returned to the phone. _"I'm putting you through now."_

There was a faint click, and a buzz, which was audible to everyone. The receptionist couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise. She had only ever spoken to the secretary before.

" _Tsukishima Katsuro speaking. Is this Sugawara Koushi?"_

"Yes. May I see Kei?" Suga cut to the point. His three minutes were running out.

"… _who is he to you?"_

"He is on our volleyball team. We were kind of with him during the crash. We heard that he woke up and wanted to make sure that he's okay. I am the vice captain of our team, and it is my duty to make sure everyone on the team is safe. Karasuno sticks together." Suga replied calmly, though there was no masking the fire in his voice.

" _I see."_ Silence for a few moments, and the receptionist started to look impatient. Then,

" _Very well. I will be over in a few minutes. I'll see you before I make any decisions about allowing you in to see my son."_

"Thank you very much." Suga waited for Mr. Tsukishima to hang up before handing the phone back to the receptionist, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank you very much to you as well."

"My pleasure." The receptionist replied, wondering how it is that they managed to drag Mr. Tsukishima away from his work, and went back to her post.

Tanaka slapped Suga on the back as soon as he sat down. "Wow, you handled it like a pro!"

Suga gave a weak smile in return. "Thanks."

"Did all of that bring the headache on again?" Daichi asked suspiciously. Suga didn't say anything, just leaned back into his chair and let out a long breath.

"Then we probably shouldn't bother him." Narita supplemented, seeing Suga's tired face of 'please-not-again-thank-you-very-much-but-I-just-need-some-quiet'.

"Right."

The small group settled into comfortable silence, Tanaka finally relaxing for the first time today and Suga just fell asleep on Daichi's shoulder. Yamaguchi stared up at the ceiling.

Tsukishima was awake somewhere up there. Narita briefly wondered what he was feeling. He had never been close to the boy, just acknowledged him as a member of his team, grudgingly at first, since the only thing that merited him a place as a starting member was his height, but since then he had started to show some passion, but not fiery, like Hinata. More like ice and frost, biting cold and putting up a huge ice wall for the opponents.

And he remembered that none of them might not be able to play again.

Narita played with the depressing thoughts for a while until Mr. Tsukishima arrived. Tall and intimidating, just like his younger son, he strode through the hospital doors and right towards their little group, with power and purpose in his every step. Daichi started to rise to meet him, but he cut across him.

"Which of you is Sugawara Koushi?"

Suga jerked awake, spotted Mr. Tsukishima and calmly greeted him despite his ruffled state. "Good day. Can we head up to see him now?"

Mr. Tsukishima's eyes travelled over their group. He made a split second decision. "Yes. But I will not have you tracking dirt into my son's hospital ward when he is still at high risk of infection. Additionally, it is past visiting hours."

Daichi started. He hadn't bothered to read the notice on visiting hours, just assumed that he could come in. He really needed to get used to visits at hospitals. Mr. Tsukishima's tone seemed to suggest that they were all retards for overlooking that. He bit his tongue as not to voice his thoughts.

"Go home, all of you. Come back tomorrow at ten. Kei will be awake then."

The group shuffled out, a bit disappointed yet still happy that they had at least managed to secure a visit for the next day.

Leaving Mr. Tsukishima in the lobby with a strange empty feeling clawing at his chest, wondering why on earth he had left his temporary office just to tell them what he could over the phone.


	7. Sixth Day

_**Upside Down: Chapter Seven**_

* * *

By nine at night, Suga had spread the news of Tsukishima's improved condition to the rest of the team. Hinata and Kageyama had remained strangely silent in response to that news, presumably feeling awkward. Kenoshita wasn't in any condition to move, and neither was Asahi. Nishinoya was staying with Asahi, along with Ennoshita. So in the end, it was the same band that took Daichi's car to the hospital in the morning of the next day. Daichi and Suga wanted to be present as the team's captains, Yamaguchi wanted to see his best friend, and Narita had promised to deliver Kenoshita's best wishes and Asahi's tentative offering of apples.

They arrived at nine fifty-five, and were told to wait in the lobby. At nine fifty-nine, Mr. Tsukishima's car pulled up in the VIP parking lot, and he walked through the doors of the hospital at precisely ten. Yamaguchi shuddered a little as both captains rose to meet him, Daichi shaking hands firmly with the CEO and Suga moving with grace, bowing his neck and raising his eyes to meet the man before talking.

"May we see him now?" Suga asked. "Or is he indisposed?"

Mr. Tsukishima looked at the receptionist, who took a quick glance at the computer monitor. "He had his morphine injected two hours ago, so if you see him now he'll be more alert, but please leave before the next injection is due in another hour."

"Excellent. Let's go." Mr. Tsukishima strode towards the lift, another nurse hurrying behind him dutifully. Everyone crowded into the lift, and the nurse pressed the floor number for them.

 _Floor 9,_ Yamaguchi mentally noted.

The lift rose and no one made an attempt to make conversation. Yamaguchi reached over to help Narita adjust the bag of apples hanging from his crutch. Daichi noticed and took it into his hands instead.

The doors opened and the nurse turned left, leading their tiny company. Yamaguchi realized belatedly with mute sadness that Mr. Tsukishima probably hadn't been to visit his son before, if he required a nurse to lead the way.

They stopped before a room with Tsukishima's name written on it, with silvery cursive writing on a gold placard screwed to the white door. The nurse bowed to them, and the team members bowed back as a reflex, then she left them. Mr. Tsukishima reached out to push the door open, but his hand stopped just short. Suga recognized hesitation in his posture, and gently pushed the door open in his stead.

Tsukishima was seated upright on the bed, scowling and conversing with his brother, who had his head thrown back and was mid-laughter when he spotted the whole group trotting in on his father's heels. Mirth turned to surprise and joy, he bounced up, greeting his father first. "Father! You decided to come after all? And these…they're Kei's friends! Hello, Suga-san. Hi, others…oh, Yamaguchi! And are those apples?"

Daichi ceremonially handed the apples to Akiteru under Mr. Tsukishima's watchful gaze. "Here. A gift from Asahi, our ace. He's…unfit to visit right now."

"Just come out and say that he's too injured." Came Tsukishima's bored voice from the bed. "Father." He acknowledged with the barest nod.

"Kei." Mr. Tsukishima said.

One word from each of them, and already the room felt way below freezing point. Akiteru looked back and fro between the two of them a little helplessly. "So, uh, Kei. Tell father how you've been doing?"

"Good. Apart from the fact that I got tossed everywhere in a car that flew upside down and blew up, I'm fine." Kei replied deadpan. He threw a glance at his teammates. "Hello."

Yamaguchi took one long, hard look at his friend. He didn't look pretty. The burns trailed all over his face and body, and most of his long, lanky limbs were swathed in thick, white bandages. His face, under the burn scars, was wan and pale. If he still had eyebrows left, Yamaguchi was sure that they would be twitching in annoyance. Most of his hair had been cropped short, close to the skull. He looked tired and irritable, which spelled doom for anyone he didn't harbor good feelings for.

And at the moment, his father was annoying him very much.

"I am aware of that fact." Mr. Tsukishima replied, equally frosty.

"You act like I'm supposed to grovel on my knees right now." Kei shot back piercingly.

Something flashed in Mr. Tsukishima's eyes. "I am your father. I'm entitled to at least some respect from my son. Did your mother not teach you properly?"

Now Akiteru was a little offended too. "Don't drag mom into this!"

"Tsukki-" Yamaguchi tried desperately to defuse the tension, but the rest of his words were drowned by Kei's biting words.

"Blame it all on mom, then. Since the father isn't supposed to do any teaching at all, nor is he supposed to spend any time at home. I haven't seen you in what, two years? And you expect me to respect you just because you're the check which mom rarely needs to cash in, the bank account that keeps growing?"

"It's all for your good!" Mr. Tsukishima was losing his cool fast. Daichi tried to use the captain glare on Kei, but Suga tugged him back. The captain glare never had much effect on the tall middle blocker anyway.

"Let it play out. It's a family matter, and they really need to talk it out right now." Suga whispered to Daichi. "Just step in if someone's about to cross the line."

"What line?" Tanaka whispered back furiously.

"Shut it!" Narita hushed them.

"-suddenly coming to see me only because my friends dragged you along?" Kei was clearly not in the condition to fight with his father, since he winced as he raised his voice. Yamaguchi wondered briefly how bad the damage to his vocal cords was.

"I am _concerned_ for _you_ , Kei! Do you not see it? How much must I give?" Mr. Tsukishima asked, clearly frustrated.

"Sure, how sad, your little porcelain doll is broken!" Kei shot back, frigid ice seeping into his tone.

Akiteru took in a deep breath.

"You are _my son_! I care for you!" Mr. Tsukishima yelled.

"Both of you stop this." Akiteru said in a level tone. Kei looked like he still wanted to yell, but a cold stare from Akiteru stopped him. Yamaguchi shuddered, having never seen this side of Akiteru before. Their bright light had suddenly went cold, yet still shone, like the sun in the North Pole. "Kei. Drink some water. Father. Calm down. This isn't like you."

Suga had filled a glass with water upon hearing Akiteru's words, and held it in front of Kei's sneering face, trying to coax him into drinking it. Kei relented due to his severely parched throat.

The red in Mr. Tsukishima's pale face started to abate, and he sighed deeply. "I am deeply sorry for allowing you to witness such a scene. I lost my calm for a moment there. Please excuse me, I have business to attend to."

He was running away, and everyone in the room knew it. Nevertheless, even Kei had decided to allow his father this chance of escape and said nothing. Mr. Tsukishima held his head up, dignified, as he made his exit. Once the door shut behind him, Akiteru had cupped his hands around his brother's pale face, looking him in the eye.

"Kei. Kei, look at me." His voice was firm, gentle, but admonishing as well. "Father's worried. He's scared. You're angry. You're hurt. I don't like him all that much either, but he's doing what he thinks best for you. For us. So…stop. Just stop for now, okay?"

Kei looked like he was about to defy his older brother, but then made the mistake of looking up into his brother's hazel eyes. Oval shaped and rounded, just like his own, down to the tiniest detail. A wonder that two pairs of eyes, same in every physical aspect, could look so different. One pair held gentleness and peace, associated with easy smiles and beautiful laughs. Whereas the other pair held nothing but a cool aloofness and a general disdain for the world, his father in particular. The hate swirled, battling for a moment, then it melted away upon contact with Akiteru's eyes. Kei sighed deeply. "Fine."

Akiteru laughed brightly, and everyone in the room remembered to breathe. Yamaguchi shuffled closer to Kei, and nervously started to talk to him, updating him about how everyone's doing. Suga grabbed an apple and produced a peeler, starting to skin the apple and cut it into pieces.

"So he's better." Daichi noted to Akiteru, who had left his position by Kei's bedside so that Yamaguchi could talk to him. The duo had regained their usual dynamics, Yamaguchi chattering away happily and Kei making the occasional snide remark, which would send Yamaguchi into peals of laughter. Kei, upon seeing that, would crack a small smile as well.

"Yes." Akiteru shook Daichi's hand firmly. "Sorry you had to see that-not exactly the warm, happy family picture that father wanted to paint of us."

Tanaka frowned, a little crease forming between his brows as he noted that even Akiteru referred to his own father in just that word-Father. Not something more affectionate like Dad or Pops. Just Father.

Yamaguchi dragged Narita over into their conversation with his good hand. " –so tell him about what he missed when he was out of it. You visited the others more often, so you should know."

"Well, Asahi woke up when En was visiting, and…" The awkwardness Narita had when talking to Kei drained away quickly with Yamaguchi chirping in a small comment here and there, and Kei's apparent effort to please his brother as he at least started making effort to make decent replies to Narita's words, even gaining enough attitude to snark at him occasionally.

Akiteru updated them on Kei's condition, the estimated rate of his recovery, then physical therapy, and how long it would be until he would be able to go home, then return to school, and finally normal life, and maybe, with a small shining grain of hope, volleyball.

Finally, Kei shot his brother an annoyed look, and Akiteru diverted the topic, laughing. Suga distributed the apple slices, and Kei even managed to choke one down despite his lack of appetite. Overall, it was a really warm and happy atmosphere, and everyone managed to forget about the accident for a moment. Kei started getting tired, and finally Suga decided it was time to leave. They exchanged the normal pleasantries, while Kei just sent them looks that said, _Please just leave so I can sleep._

And Mr. Tsukishima picked that moment to stroll in casually, like the earlier part of the visit had never happened.

"I trust that you had an enjoyable visit with my son." He said pleasantly. "I must thank you all for coming."

Kei had stiffened, and Akiteru seemed to have stopped breathing since their father entered the room.

"Father." Akiteru said stiffly. "I thought you went to accompany mum."

Mr. Tsukishima shrugged. "I make good use of my time."

In other words, he had been to the company _again_. Kei felt anger boil, and the pain in his body spiked sharply. Almost time for the pain medication. Kei wasn't in the mood, so chose to ignore his father's presence, sending a sharp nod in his friends' direction-wait. When did he start addressing all of them as friends? Even annoying Tanaka and wallflower Narita?

Suga slowed his movements though, sensing that if Mr. Tsukishima wanted to berate his son, or if Kei wanted to raise a fuss, it would be kept to a minimum with outsiders around. Damage control. Tanaka tapped his foot impatiently, not understanding Suga's sudden slowness.

"Mom was waiting for you." Not even Akiteru felt like making peace right now. He had been with his mother for the majority of the days waiting for Kei to wake up, and taking care of Kei, visiting Kei. He'd seen her breakdowns, her attempts to toughen up and stay strong only to fail miserably. He'd comforted her through a wailing bout of tears after she had a nightmare where Kei was dead.

And his father hadn't taken the heart to spend more than ten minutes with her.

Mr. Tsukishima didn't even look fazed at his elder son being riled up. "I believe in her capability to manage herself."

Color rose in Kei's pale cheeks, and Yamaguchi frantically dug around in his mind for anything he could do to divert attention away from the current situation. The topic was taking a dangerous turn. However, Kei spoke, in a defeated manner.

"I understand that your job is important to you. Go back to Britain then. Go back to your work. We've been managing ourselves for a long time now."

Mr. Tsukishima frowned. "Kei. You've been in a car accident-"

"And _that's_ what it takes to get your attention? Should Mom throw herself in front of a car too?" Kei's voice had a deadly calm to it, and everyone realized just how much he resembled his father in that moment.

Mr. Tsukishima looked affronted. "Of course not! It is just…I am simply too busy…"

His voice trailed off, and Akiteru's eyes flared up with hope. Kei closed his eyes, sighing. A nurse tried to shoo the boys blocking the door away as she tried to enter to give Kei his scheduled pain medication, but caught sight of Mr. Tsukishima and instead opted to wait.

"I will check up on her later, if that is what you wish." He finally said in a long-suffering tone.

Suga's movements quickened, a small smile forming on his face. Perplexed, Tanaka looked at Daichi, only to find the same smile on his face. Narita noticed Tanaka looking confused and stifled a laugh. "Ask them later." He whispered in an amused tone.

Yamaguchi found the Tsukishima family- _it had been his first time meeting Mr. Tsukishima! Now he knew the whole family_ -a bit endearing and sometimes, honestly, idiotic. Mr. Tsukishima was acting like a petulant child being forced to do something. They knew he loved his wife and children, and honestly just couldn't grasp the concept of building a family out of love. He wondered what Mr. Tsukishima had been like when he was younger.

They got out of the nurse's way and left, bidding a polite farewell to Mr. Tsukishima as well. Akiteru promised through a text to Suga on their way home that he would try to time their visits to avoid Mr. Tsukishima.

 _He can be…intense. And you witnessed way more family drama than you needed to today. Kei's cranky because of it, but don't mind him._

Suga read the text aloud to those in the car. Tanaka humphed a little, thinking that their middle blocker had always been cranky. But Akiteru did have a point. They certainly didn't want to bump into Mr. Tsukishima again and get involved in another awkward scene like today.

Speaking of…

"What were you guys so happy about just now?" He demanded of Narita.

Yamaguchi giggled softly. "Didn't you see? When Tsukki's father promised to go see his mom, he _smiled!_ "

* * *

 _ **So…more Tsukishima family drama. I'm sorry for not updating this story in ages, and instead being kidnapped by the Maze Runner fandom. I haven't forgotten, I promise! Just like I haven't forgotten my Ao No Exorcist fics…**_

 _ **In the next chapter, there'll be more of Asahi and Ennoshita, so stay tuned! And don't lose hope for at least another two months!**_


	8. Seventh Day

_**I apologize for the super slow update! First I got a bit too caught up with my Maze Runner fanfiction Prototype, then there were exams and competitions, and I dropped completely from the site. I neglected to reply to all of your reviews last chapter as well so GOMENASAI MY DEAR READERS.**_

 _ **On that note, starting next chapter we will be going in weeks, then when four weeks are done we will go by months. I can't wait to stop cramming everything into one day XD**_

 _ **Response to reviews:**_

 _ **Euronite: Thank you! I hope it will continue to be interesting since there aren't any more major events after…it's just dealing with the aftermath.**_

 _ **Smiley: Yes he does remember everyone! I'm hoping to keep my stories away from the memory loss plot because it's kind of overused. I do hope to be inserting a few surprises in here though.**_

 _ **RedFoxSpy: Thanks! It's been a while since I last attempted a multi chaptered story before I started Upside Down because I didn't think my writing style is suited to it, but you said it's fine, so thanks! I might make more similar attempts in the future**_

 _ **Kibi Tosame: Thanks! I'm trying my best to not focus too much on a single character (my favs are Tsukki and Suga) and stress the theme of the team as a family, and incorporating their actual families into it have been challenging, but good overall. So you're a Maze Runner movie fan? Which was your favorite character? (NEWT NEWT NEWT NEWT :P)**_

* * *

 _ **Upside Down: Chapter Eight**_

* * *

"ASAHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Noya wheeled himself into Asahi's room, yelling so loud that the nurses were prepared to admonish whoever it was disturbing the patients' rest, only to discover that it was Noya. Again.

"Please do refrain from making such a ruckus again." The nurse tried to sound reproachful, but couldn't help smiling. The vibrant teen had bounced back so quickly that it had been an immense source of comfort and hope to the hospital staff. Even though he did stir up quite the noisy hurricane, he brought life and spirit to the hospital that was death's favorite haunt.

Noya turned and sent her a brilliant smile. "I'll try to remember!"

"Noya." Asahi coughed quietly. "Just come here, okay? En's going to chew you out if he hears any more yelling when he comes back."

"Right. Look what our beauty managers left for you!" Noya beamed, holding up a volleyball. "They were giving them out the second day of the accident, but you were unconscious and Ennoshita put it away." He twirled it on his finger. "When everyone's well again, we can play volleyball again together. Wouldn't that be nice?"

"How long will it take?" Asahi asked, a mixture of anticipation and worry crossing his face.

Noya thought for a moment. "I'll be able to play again in a month, maybe less. Broken bones probably take two to three months. Tsukishima should probably be able to play again in the time span as well, maybe a bit longer, since he got burned as well. Four months!" He grinned triumphantly at Asahi, proud of himself making the calculations.

Asahi's face fell. "We'll never make it in time for the Winter Cup Tournament's next match!"

Noya's brow raised. "You were seriously hoping that everyone'll be okay in two weeks?"

Asahi blushed sheepishly. "I can always hope…"

Noya's grin widened. He reached over and ruffled what was left of Asahi's hair. "Our Asahi is learning to be positive! Suga's charm worked!"

"Suga's charm?" Asahi asked. His eyes slowly travelled to the cute little penguin keychain on his bedside table. "You mean…that?"

"Yup! He got Daichi to help him pick it out. He gave it to En to put it there before you woke up." Noya confirmed. He wheeled closer and picked it up. The penguin turned on the keychain to face Asahi. Asahi blinked at it.

"What's its name?" He finally decided on a fairly normal question.

Noya set it back down. "It's a she! And Suga said you could name it."

Asahi could feel a headache coming on. He looked at the penguin, staring at him with beady black eyes, then back at Noya. He smiled.

"Joy."

"What-?" Noya picked up the penguin again, looking at it. "It just looks cute. Not happy."

Asahi blushed furiously. "I just hope that it'll be able to bring joy to everyone! Did Suga get the others some as well?"

Noya frowned. "Well, I don't know about the girls, but he got everyone on the team one. I got a dolphin! And Daichi's was a teddy bear, and Hinata got a koala, and Kageyama had this weird alien thing…"

"I guess I'm lucky then." Asahi looked at his penguin once more, completely befuddled, and deciding to just let it go. "When are you getting out?"

"In a week, or so. They want to make sure that the burns fully heal before turning me loose on the world." Noya replied cheerfully, before his cheer dropped a bit. "But you'll take longer, since the fire got you worse."

"Tsukishima got burnt the worst though, right?" Asahi tried to direct Noya's line of thinking away from himself.

Wrong move. Noya's grin dropped from his face completely. "Yeah. Suga went to visit him with Ryuu, Narita, Yamaguchi and Daichi. Suga won't tell me much, and I haven't talked to the others yet, though Ryuu is supposed to be coming in an hour, but he was in a super bad mood, and very uncomfortable."

"Are you going to visit him?" Asahi asked. He briefly wondered how he was doing. Almost the whole team had come by to visit him already, Hinata and Kageyama having to get shut down by Ennoshita before the nurses could throw them out of the building, Narita and Yamaguchi coming together, making quite the pair of broken limbs, Daichi and Suga bringing fruits and leaving after filling Asahi's brain with home remedies and advice. He went to visit Kenoshita himself the minute the doctor cleared him to leave his room for simple walks and exercise, but Tsukishima had been transferred to a different hospital by then and he wasn't allowed out yet.

"Yeah. After I get out, I'll check with the others when they're visiting next and go with them. The schedule's weird though, because Tsukishima's dad is really uptight and wants to meet us before letting us go in to visit him." Noya scrunched up his nose. "I swear he's worse than his son."

"Noya!" Asahi reprimanded. They shouldn't talk about a friend's father like that, one of the older generation that should be treated with respect. Noya ducked his head a little, though the grin didn't fade. He tossed the volleyball at Asahi, who just managed to catch it by the tips of his fingers, caught by surprise.

"Still sharp. Still our ace." Noya smiled at him, confident. "We can still win other games. Maybe not the Winter Cup, but we'll still be Karasuno. With our timid, strong ace."

Asahi blushed.

* * *

Ennoshita knocked on the door of the Tanaka household, shifting his stance from one foot to another as he waited. He hadn't got the chance to converse properly with Tanaka at Saeko's funeral. The girl was like a big sister to all of the second years, and he couldn't imagine how hard Tanaka had been hit by it.

A black piece of cloth was hung over the doorway, to symbolize a period of mourning for the Tanaka family. Ennoshita watched the edges of the cloth sway as the door swung open, not daring to meet Tanaka's eyes.

"En." Tanaka said, before enveloping him in a warm, friendly hug. "I'm glad you're here."

Ennoshita hugged back, relief pooling in his stomach. "I'm glad too." He said, swallowing a lump. "That you are still…you."

"Yeah. I'm happy you came after." Tanaka said, eyes flicking to the right, remembering the abyss he had fallen into and how Suga and Daichi had dug him out. "Before wasn't…a pretty sight."

Ennoshita lowered his head. "I'm sorry I wasn't there."

"Don't be." Tanaka said, grabbing Ennoshita by the arm and pulling him into the house. It was relatively more cheerful in there, with no black drapes. Saeko's belongings had been moved though, some still remained but most were gone, probably packed away in boxes, sealed away somewhere. "That might not be the best thing. You miss her just as much as I do, and I would probably drag you down into despair as well. I'm okay now, or as okay as I can be, and that's enough for now."

Ennoshita nodded, dropping a package of notes and files on the table. "Let's go out to the back. I don't really feel like doing homework today."

"Me neither. We can just play volleyball." Tanaka grinned, not as wide as it used to be, but it was a start.

* * *

The gym was empty, only one pair trainers squeaking on the clean, polished floor. Hinata stopped, picked up a stray ball rolling on the floor towards him, and flung it upwards, hard, power and fury fueling the toss until it hit the bleachers with a dull thunk and rolled away.

"It isn't fair." He whispered to himself. He grabbed another ball, and this time with a new intensity, threw it upwards, and on a whim, started running. He narrowed his eyes, watching the ball fall.

 _When the cars collided and fell forward, when their world crumbled to pieces._

Hinata jumped, coiling tension and strength in his leg muscles, arm rigid, straight up, palm back-

He swung forward, palm connecting with the familiar feel of rubber.

The ball spiked forward, smashing into the floor, bouncing off at a familiar angle. Hinata blinked, all of the anger draining out of him.

"…I did a jump serve…?"

A familiar feeling sparked inside him, and he whooped. "I did a jump serve!"

The sound of his laughter echoed emptily back at him, bouncing off the walls of the gym, and he stopped, tears welling up in his eyes.

Kageyama should have been there to scowl and say, _That was just luck, dumbass. I'll show you how it's done._

Tsukishima should have been there to scoff and say, _Psht, only idiots can get so excited over a ball hitting the ground,_ accompanied by Yamaguchi's giggle.

Asahi should have been there, working on his own jump serve, only to be surprised when Hinata did it as well.

Nishinoya and Tanaka should have been there to slam Hinata on his back and congratulate him loudly, _Your senpai is proud of you!_

The ball rolled back to his feet. Hinata picked it up, feeling the rubber texture.

The ball flew into the air, spinning beautifully. It could never be upside down, no matter what way one turned it, for it was spherical.

Hinata leapt, body curving, poised with tension, and his arm cut through the air.

 _Slam._

* * *

Narita and Yamaguchi nudged each other nervously, unsure of what they could say.

"I'll leave the three of you alone, okay?" Kenoshita's mother said, running a tired hand through her hair. "Press the button if you need help."

"Sure, Mrs. Kenoshita." Yamaguchi said politely. The woman had run herself ragged after taking care of her son, who was still in a coma after seven days. A full week. He had stabilized, and brain activity was still present, but he had shown no signs of awakening.

It was too soon to determine anything, but if Kenoshita didn't show any more promising signs for an extended time period, they may have to take him off life support.

Making Saeko to be only the first of two casualties.

The doctor had suggested talking to Kenoshita to stimulate brain activities. That in known records of people awakening from comas, they had reported ninety percent to have done so because of a familiar voice, an anchor.

And they were willing to do anything for their friend to have a slim chance at survival.

"Uh…Kenoshita-san?" Yamaguchi started out first, since Narita still had no idea what to say to his comatose friend, who was unable to respond to his jokes, or cuff him over the head jokingly. "So…we'd really like for you to wake up, but we've no idea how to do it. So I guess I'll just tell you about how the others are doing, okay? You probably already got updates from at least five different people already, I'm fairly sure your mom and dad have done that, and Suga and Daichi visited everyone in the hospital already, and Noya-san says that he did. Apart from your own condition, I would say second worse is Tsukki. He's doing way better than you though, so you should really catch up. He's out of it most of the time though, and types weirdly because of his broken fingers. It's annoying him to hell because he keeps spelling things wrong or knocking the phone off the table. Then Asahi, I guess."

"I dropped by to see him yesterday." Narita informed the unconscious teammate. "He's doing good, having some trouble getting around, and they're still wary of infection, but he's steadily on the path to recovery. Our ace will be back on the court in no time, from what the doctor's telling him. Physio and muscle therapy is going to be a must for him though, and Noya, and the two of us. Tsukishima will need it too, but that's after everything else heals enough."

They proceeded in the same manner, talking about their friends, the other chipping in when the talker started to falter and run out of things to say. The room was silent, the beeping of the heart machine and the whirring of the machinery the only noise other than the sound of their words, rising and falling and finally trailing off into blank nothingness.

"I liked it much better when you could talk back." Narita mused quietly after a beat of silence.

Yamaguchi gently brushed the top of Kenoshita's head, where they had shaved off his hair for easier handling. "You know, I never got to talk to you much. Maybe I should have. But it's kind of too late to be talking about these, right? I just want you to know that even though we may not have built a close relationship, I still want you to wake up so that we can at least have a _chance_ at that."

The accident had reminded them all of their mortality, and how the endless tomorrows they had pictured might not be there after all.

Narita quietly laid a comforting hand on Yamaguchi's back, and they spoke no more, sitting in silence, hoping that their presence would be enough until Kenoshita's mother returned.


End file.
